Cold Blooded
by Kyarorain
Summary: J and Zero team up to exact a terrible revenge upon Ash and they won't stop until he's completely broken.
1. Chapter 1

**Cold Blooded**

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Before you begin reading this fanfic, please heed my warnings.

This story will contain scenes of **violence, torture, disturbing imagery and mentions of sexual abuse. **It is very dark and serious, hence the M rating. I cannot stress this enough, so please keep these warnings in mind if you mean to read this fanfic.

Game Freak and Nintendo own Pokémon.

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The sound of the blue haired officer's footsteps echoed through the hallway as she briskly walked toward her office. She briefly murmured a greeting to another officer who walked past her with a sunny smile on her face. It had been a good day today with them arresting several men who were running a drug ring in the seedy underground of the nearby city after a tip-off and that had put her in a considerably good mood. After all, a police officer liked nothing better than to work on erasing the world of crime and putting criminals away where they belonged. Of course, she knew it was impossible to rid crime from the world, but the harder they worked then the less crime there would be.

Officer Jenny suddenly came to a stop, her brown eyes falling upon her office door where her name was fixed in a shiny brass plaque. She reached out to grip the door handle and twisted it downward, giving the door a sharp push. It opened easily and she stepped inside, looking around the room. As always, the office was neat and tidy. The young woman shut the door behind her with a soft click and walked across the office toward her chair. As she sank down into it, she released a blissful sigh and leaned back, closing her eyes to the world. It was so pleasant to simply sit down and relax after a day of hard work. The only thing that could make this better was a delicious hot mug of steaming coffee. Come to think of it, there was a coffee machine not too far from this room and it would be a quick trip there and back. The female officer prepared to lift herself from the chair and head out of the room.

Before she could even stand however, a terrifying boom sounded throughout the building and the walls seemed to shudder at the same time. Officer Jenny gasped and instinctively flung herself to the ground, kneeling with her hands over her head. Her pulse was now racing furiously as she tried to figure out what that alarming sound had been. Gunfire? No, it had been much too loud for that, plus she swore something had made the building shake. Then it surely had to be a bomb. Why somebody would do something so crazy like bombing a prison, she had no idea. Another loud boom followed and Officer Jenny curled up even tighter, dreading the prospect of what would happen to herself. If a bomb hit her office then she would likely be killed. Horrifying thoughts of what might have already happened to her partners raced through her mind. Nobody would have been prepared for a sudden bomb attack and would all have been left vulnerable to them. It wasn't just the rest of her colleagues in danger, but the prisoners as well.

A terrifying silence followed, broken only by the sound of the officer's heavy breathing. She could also hear the faint sound of running footsteps and muffled voices outside the office. It suddenly occurred to her that she should be out there with them, going to find out what the cause of those bombs was. Officer Jenny hastily stood up, taking a deep breath to calm herself down, and made for the door. So much for a good day, huh? Crime never did take a break, but it was a rare occasion that a site like this was the target of a crime. Few people would be foolish enough to do something so risky like attacking an area swarming with police. _Just what are they thinking? Why would anybody even want to try attacking a prison? Do they want to get arrested?_

So many questions were forming themselves in her mind as she stepped out into the hallway. She approached a younger male police officer who stopped as he saw her coming. His face was pale and his eyes were wide. "Toby, do you know what's going on?" Officer Jenny asked in a firm, steady voice. "Is it a bomber?"

"Apparently someone just attacked the side of the prison," Toby spoke hurriedly. "I don't know if anybody was hurt, but the bombs were hitting quite high up. It seems that there is also an airship right outside the building near where the bombs hit."

"An airship?" Officer Jenny repeated incredulously. There couldn't be very many people in the Sinnoh region who were in the habit of riding around in airships and she remembered hearing of at least one criminal who was known to travel in one. As she tried to remember the person's name, it suddenly came to her. "Pokémon Hunter J?" she murmured, her eyes narrowing. "Could it really be?"

The idea of someone like J attacking this prison made little sense to her. This criminal was a cold hearted woman who went around stealing Pokémon and selling them off to clients. If anyone with enough money asked her to get a Pokémon for them, then she would set out to do it, no matter how tough the job was. All she cared about was getting the money. The misery of those people who had their Pokémon stolen from them did not matter to J. Clearly, she did not have a moral fiber in her body at all. So, why would a Pokémon bounty hunter be attacking a prison? There were no Pokémon here for her to steal. Officer Jenny made her mind up and hurried toward the entrance, determined to get a look at that airship and hopefully even apprehend her in the process. The entire police force in Sinnoh wanted nothing more than to put J away for good, along with every other Pokémon thief who roamed the lands. Taking someone's friend and trusted partner from them was simply an unforgivable act and the police were very serious about apprehending people who attempted to commit such vile crimes.

Officer Jenny raced through the long hallways and down the stairs to the first floor. There was a large crowd of people gathering outside and she hastily pushed her way through the masses, muttering apologies under her breath. As she looked up at the walls of the prison, she could see a cloud of dark smoke billowing out from the side. There was indeed a large airship positioned right by the prison, one that she recognised as belonging to J herself. So her hunch had been right after all, but she didn't understand why someone like J would be here in the first place. A long, metal platform bridged the gap between the airship and the prison, presumably serving as a way for the people on the airship to enter the prison. The airship itself was surrounded by Metagross and Garchomp. There were even a couple of Dragonite and a Salamence among the crowd of Pokémon.

The female officer tensed, gritting her teeth. These Pokémon were known for being extremely tough and powerful, and there were so many of them up there. It would be extremely dangerous to go up in the air and attack the airship. They only had two helicopters here and they would be shot down in a second by those fearsome Pokémon. J was obviously not an idiot. She had prepared for something like this and put together a formidable defence that would be near impossible to break through. Officer Jenny looked back to the billowing smoke, praying that her comrades were having better luck inside the prison.

Then she saw something that almost made her heart stop. There were people dressed in green uniform running out of the prison building, accompanied by another person who was not dressed the same but rather clad in yellow. As the officer squinted, she thought she could make out a head of white hair. Her eyes grew wide in shock and she gasped. "Oh my god!"

Now it was all too clear why J had been attacking the prison. She had been doing it with the intent of freeing one of the prisoners and that prisoner was none other than Zero, a deranged individual who had previously attempted to take control of the reverse world, a world inhabited only by the Renegade Pokémon, Giratina. With the aid of his Mecha Giratina, he had then attempted to destroy parts of their own world from inside the reverse world. Luckily, he had been stopped and the police had hauled him away to prison.

"Zero..." Officer Jenny whispered, her fists clenching. She almost felt sick seeing the former prisoner walking free, hurrying into the airship with those uniformed men at his side. How could this be happening? Some police officers were attempting to cross the platform as well, but a well aimed Hyper Beam from a Metagross forced them back inside the building. Her spirits sank as she watched the people disappear inside the airship. The drawbridge then slid away from the wall of the prison, retreating back into the airship. The Pokémon guarding the airship immediately flew in through the opening and then the door slid up, sealing off the airship.

J's airship then faded away before their eyes as it activated the invisibility cloak and they heard the roar of the engines fade in the distance. The Pokémon Hunter, J, had once more evaded the police and this time she had taken a prisoner with her. Officer Jenny let out a groan of disgust and fell to her knees, beating a fist against the ground in despair. She had heard many tales of the elusive bounty hunter from her cousins and it beggared belief that this woman could commit crimes so easily and get away every single time. Would the police ever be able to put her behind bars where she belonged? At this rate, it was looking like they never would. J was just much too good at her job. She was cunning and had so many gadgets at her disposal that the police could not match up to her.

There was no use in crying about it. Officer Jenny numbly got to her feet and turned around, walking steadily back into the prison with her head hung low. She was going to have to file a report on the freed prisoner. With J as his ally, she wondered if they would ever be seeing him behind bars again. Just what is the connection between those two anyway? _Why would a cold hearted bounty hunter like her go to all this trouble to free him?_ It certainly was curious. J was the kind of person who would even sacrifice her own men if she had to, so it was indeed quite odd that she had done something like this. Zero must have been an important person to her for some reason.

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"Well, this is certainly a surprise." Zero levered himself down into a comfortable chair and leaned back into it, placing his arms across the armrests and sighing. It was so much more comfortable than any chair or bed that could be found in that terrible prison. He couldn't remember the last time he had been able to sleep soundly at night. An impatient cough caught his attention and he opened one yellow eye, looking toward J, who was watching him with a faint scowl. Her arms were crossed against her chest and her posture was stiff. "Can't a man who has spent weeks in prison have a little rest?"

"Not until you have answered my questions," J spoke in a clipped voice, her blue eyes narrowing slightly. "I did not get you out of that prison just so that you could lounge around on my airship."

Zero exhaled heavily and straightened, leaning forward and regarding her with a smile. "I believe I should be the one to ask a question first. Why did you go to all that trouble to get me out of prison? We might be cousins, but we haven't been in contact for years."

"The reason why I did was so that I could get the answers I wanted," J responded. "Perhaps our relation had something to do with it. I had heard that you tried to hatch some foolhardy scheme and somehow it failed. You were then sent to prison." She made a face in disgust. "How could you have slipped up like that? It's simply pathetic."

"Kick a man when he's down, why don't you?" Zero's smile disappeared. J's comment had left him severely rankled. He did not like to remember the humiliating defeat that he had suffered at the moment he came so close to achieving his dream. In fact, it was all he could think about when he was languishing back in that cold and lonely prison cell. Zero hung his head, a sad look passing over his face. The dream he had worked so hard for and almost had in his grasp was nothing more than a complete failure now.

"I would like to know what happened," J stated. It was not a request, but an order and Zero sensed that. He knew better than to invoke the wrath of this woman, whom he knew could have a filthy temper when angered. Though she was usually quite calm and collected, there were times when she could get a bit violent in the past. Zero didn't want to dredge up the painful memories again but he would do so for J, just this once.

"It started a long time ago, when I was working with my superior. We were trying to find a way to pass between this world and another world known as the Reverse World. In the end, we did find a way. Giratina is a Pokémon who has the ability to go between those worlds freely and we were going to replicate its abilities." Zero paused, closing his eyes and shaking his head sadly. "Except we found out it could kill Giratina. That superior of mine, the sentimental fool, he had to go and erase all that data we had spent so long working on. I didn't give up though." His eyes opened and he smiled slightly. "I started all over again from the very beginning and I was able to recreate the program that could copy Giratina. In the end, I was able to create my precious Mecha Giratina, the mechanical copy of that Pokémon, and Giratina didn't even have to die after all." Zero dummed his fingertips against the arm of the chair, chewing his bottom lip slightly. "My big mistake was attempting to destroy the living world from within the reverse one. Giratina, some Pokémon whose name I think was Shaymin, and that irritating brat boy... they all worked together to stop me. I was forced to return to the living world and the police dragged me away to prison."

"A brat boy?" J's voice had a hint of alarm in it. She slammed her hands down on the chair, startling Zero as she suddenly got very close. "Tell me more about this boy," she hissed in a serious voice that meant business.

Zero blinked at her in surprise, taken aback by the sudden reaction. "Okay, but I don't see how it is really important though. He was quite young, possibly around ten to twelve years old and he wore a red baseball cap. I think he had dark hair too."

"Did he have a Pikachu?" J asked, her fists clenching so tightly that her fingernails would have been digging into her palms had it not been for the gloves that she wore.

"I believe so." Zero slowly blinked, his amazed stare fixed fast on his cousin's face. "Hold on, do you actually know this kid as well?"

J turned away and paced along the perimeter of the room, clenching her teeth. Why was she not surprised about this? That meddling brat really did like to get involved in other people's affairs, didn't he? She was so sick of him always turning up and trying to put a stop to her missions. Now, on top of all that, she had discovered that the brat was at least partially responsible for her cousin's dreams being ruined and him being in jail.

"J?" Zero spoke her name in a patient tone. "What do you know about him?"

"What I do know is that he is an annoying brat who always has to try and stop people from doing anything he considers to be wrong. So many times now he has shown up while I'm on a mission and tried to stop me." J walked back toward Zero, her face twisted in a snarl. "I am sick to death of his constant interfering. I even tried to kill him three times, but somehow he managed to survive all three attempts. That boy is a nuisance."

"So I'm not the only one who's had to put up with him. My dreams were ruined." Zero gritted his teeth angrily, his amber eyes flashing with emotion. "I was so close to becoming the ruler of my beloved Reverse World, but he had to come and screw it up. Him and those damn Pokémon. I would love nothing more than to be able to get revenge on those who wronged me." He exhaled heavily and slumped back into the chair. "I suppose I should be just settle for being thankful that I am out of jail. It was a miserable place to be."

"No." J narrowed her eyes, feeling the rage emanating deep within herself. She had been bottling up her anger for a long time and now, hearing about her cousin's misery, the fires had been awoken. "We are not going to let this slide. That brat deserves to be punished for all the interference he has done." Her mouth twitched into an evil smirk. "He is going to pay. It's time for us to get our revenge, together."

"I like the way you think." Zero stood up and held out his hand for her to shake. "I would like to work with you. We must do our best to make this kid suffer." He chuckled softly, feeling a thrill of excitement. The idea of getting back at one of those reponsible for his failure and the ruination of his long worked for dreams was immensely satisfying.

J took his hand and clasped it tightly. They shook hands and the deal was sealed. The two cousins would work together to ensure that the boy known as Ash Ketchum finally got to pay, once and for all.


	2. Chapter 2

**Cold Blooded**

Ash was the first one to wake up in the morning, opening his eyes and blinking rapidly against the bright sunlight beaming down on them. He yawned and slowly sat up in his sleeping bag. The motion disrupted the sleeping mouse Pokémon curled up next to him.

"Pika?" Pikachu mumbled as he was pulled out of his dreams. He cocked open one eye to look up at his trainer. Ash saw him looking and smiled, reaching down to rub his yellow head fondly.

"Hey, Pikachu. Did I wake you?" Ash looked around his surroundings, taking note of Brock still fast asleep in his sleeping bag and the nearby tent which Dawn slept exhaled heavily. "Did I wake up a bit early? I'm already hungry though. Come on, Brock, when are you going to wake up and make us breakfast?" he muttered quietly.

Pikachu yawned and stretched out his back luxuriously, before hopping into Ash's lap. Ash put his arms around him and held him close to his chest.

"Hopefully we'll be able to get to the next town today," Ash murmured. "It would be good to get to a Pokémon Center soon, especially since we've been having so many battles lately. Of course I've won every single one of them." He smiled to himself. Defeating trainers in battle wasn't such a difficult task for him with his party of Pokémon. It was a shame though that he still had yet to beat a certain rival of himself. The boy shook his head, trying not to think about Paul. He certainly didn't want to be thinking about him on a nice morning like this. It would only put a dampener on his good mood.

There was movement in the nearby sleeping bag. Ash turned his head, watching the older boy sit up in his sleeping bag and rub his eyes. "Good morning, Brock," he said cheerfully. "Are you going to make us breakfast now?"

Brock looked at him with an exasperated expression. "I've just woken up and you want me to start making breakfast already?"

Ash smiled sheepishly. "I'm kind of hungry," he admitted.

"Yeah, I can tell," Brock said in a dry voice. "I'll do it soon, okay?"

"Okay." Ash decided it would be a good time to start getting ready and he slipped out of the sleeping bag, rolling it up and stuffing it into his green backpack. The dark-haired boy then grabbed a small towel out of the bag and picked up his red baseball cap, then he set off toward the nearby river they had seen the previous evening when locating a suitable place to set up camp. He found it quickly enough and sat down next to it, dipping his hands into the cool, glistening water. Ash quickly brought his hands up, splashing the water over his face. Droplets of water splashed onto his black and yellow vest. He picked up the soft, fluffy towel and quickly dried his face.

Ash then placed his cap upon his head of messy hair, not terribly concerned about brushing it. As long as he wore a hat to a hide it, he didn't really see the point in making sure his hair was tidy. He got to his feet, picking up the towel as he did so, then turned around. The young trainer was about to start walking back to the campsite when he heard the soft sound of footsteps approaching. Ash whirled around to see an unfamiliar man approach.

There was nothing particularly interesting about this man. He wore plain clothes and a cap upon his head and had an average looking face. He looked up toward Ash as if he had just noticed him and raised a hand, smiling slightly. "Oh, sorry. I hope I didn't startle you too much."

"No, it's okay. I just didn't think there was anybody else here." Ash regarded him curiously. It was quite strange to see somebody else around so early in the morning and he wondered what it was the man was doing. Perhaps he just had a job to do. At any rate, he certainly didn't seem like a suspicious man. Then again, Ash was rarely ever suspicious of strangers thanks to his trusting nature. He tried to see the good in everybody, which had led to him getting tricked by Team Rocket far too often.

"I was just taking one of my morning walks," the man explained calmly. "My house isn't too far from here and I like to take a walk around early in the day. I suppose you're camping nearby, are you? You must be a Pokémon trainer."

"That's right." Ash nodded, feeling at ease. "I'm travelling around the gyms and collecting badges, then I'm going to compete in the Sinnoh League."

"Oh, the league." The man nodded slowly, seeming impressed with his answer. "I used to do a bit of Pokémon training now and then when I was young but I never was able to go on an actual journey. Family issues and all that."

"I see. That's a shame," Ash commented. It occurred to him that he hadn't introduced himself yet and he should do that. "My name's Ash. It's nice to meet you."

The man hesitated slightly before he spoke. "Travis. Anyway, I still have my Pokémon from way back then and they aren't in such bad shape, but I'm not so keen on travelling these days."

"Is that so? Maybe we could have a Pokémon battle sometime." Ash would happily have had one right now, even if he was hungry and awaiting breakfast, but Pikachu was back at the camp as were his other Pokémon, inside their Poké Balls. It suddenly occurred to him how much time must have passed by now. Dawn might even be awake by now and Brock would likely have made a start on cooking breakfast. If he didn't get back soon, one of them would come looking for him because he was taking so long. "Well, it was nice talking to you," Ash spoke, "but I really should be getting back now. My friends will be wondering where I've got to."

"Really?" Travis smiled pleasantly, one hand straying toward an unzipped pouch worn at his waist. "Perhaps I'll see you later and we can see about that Pokémon battle then."

"Sure," Ash said enthusiastically. He turned around and started to walk back in the direction of the camp.

Suddenly, Travis lunged forward and looped an arm around Ash's chest, pinning his arms forcefully. The hand that had been slipping into his pouch now shot toward the boy's neck, a needle briefly glinting before it buried itself in the exposed flesh. His thumb pushed down on the plunger, forcing the liquid within the syringe into Ash's body.

Ash had no time to react or even think during the entire ordeal. It all happened so fast that he could barely take it in. An arm had wrapped around his body, trapping him so that he couldn't move, and the prick in his neck had come just a second later. Now the arm came away and Ash stumbled forward, feeling slightly dizzy. Whether it was from shock or whatever he had just been injected with, he wasn't quite sure.

The towel dropped to the ground and Ash shakily reached up to touch the place where he had been injected, his eyes growing wide. "What did you do?" he whispered in a querulous voice, trembling all over. He slowly turned his head to look toward the smirking man and realised that he could barely make out his expression. His entire surroundings were becoming unclear and he screwed his eyes shut against the blur.

Why hadn't he brought Pikachu along with him? Ash was cursing himself now for not doing that. He couldn't even shout for help since his body was starting to grow weak and he just didn't have the energy to speak anymore, let alone scream. Even if he could shout, his friends were probably too far away to hear him for that matter. His legs gave way beneath him and he crashed to the ground, swiftly slipping into unconsciousness.

Travis reached into his pocket and extracted a communicator, switching it on. "This is Travis. I've managed to get the kid alone and he's been sedated. There's nobody else around so I shouldn't have any trouble getting him to the helicopter. Begin preparations for departure." He switched off the communicator, replacing it in his pocket, and lifted up the unconscious young boy, hoisting him over his shoulder with ease and setting off in the direction of the helicopter.

x-o-x-o-x

"Ash sure is taking a while," Brock commented as he started preparing the food for breakfast. "I wonder what could be keeping him."

"Huh, where did he go?" Dawn peeped out through the tent, where she was currently getting ready.

"I think he just went to wash himself," Brock replied. "I'm pretty sure I remember him taking a towel, so he must have gone to that river nearby. I don't think it was that far from here."

"Hmm, maybe he got sidetracked." Dawn picked up her white hat and pulled it down over her head, then stepped out of the tent with Piplup behind her. "I think I'll go down to the river and see what he's up to."

"Pika." Pikachu walked up to Dawn with a slightly worried expression. He certainly hoped that nothing had happened to his trainer.

"You want to come with me?" Dawn asked. The yellow mouse Pokémon silently responded by nodding his head. "Okay... the river was that way, wasn't it?" She hurried off toward the river with Pikachu and Piplup running behind her.

Brock watched them leave and resumed his preparation of the food. "It's so like Ash to get involved in something and lose track of time," he murmured to himself with a bemused smile. That was exactly what he thought had happened. The thought that something bad might have happened didn't even occur to him. What could possibly happen on such a pleasant and quiet morning like this one?

"Brock!" Dawn came running back a few minutes later, clutching the towel in one hand. Her face was pale and her eyes wide with anxiety. "Look what I found." She held out the towel, biting down on her bottom lip. "It was just lying there by the river. Ash was nowhere in sight."

Brock stared at the towel, his face draining of all colour. It was clear now that something had happened. "We should look for him," he said anxiously, getting to his feet. "Let's go."

No matter how hard the two of them searched the surrounding area for any sign of Ash, they wouldn't find him. He was currently bound and unconscious, secured in a helicopter that was now making its way toward the base where J and Zero had set up their operation.


	3. Chapter 3

**Cold Blooded**

Ash gradually began to wake up. His head was aching slightly and he felt faint. It took a few moments for him to remember what was happening. The memory of that man grabbing him and injecting him came to him in a flash and his eyes flew open. He was inside an unfamiliar room, his hands bound behind his back and tightly tied to the back of the chair he was sitting in. His legs were also tied to the legs of the chair. A chill of fear ran through his body.

He had obviously been kidnapped, but why? Who was Travis supposed to be and what had he wanted with him? Ash struggled against the bonds in a desperate attempt to break free, but it was useless. He sank into the chair, his chest fluttering in panic. This was really bad. Were Brock and Dawn aware of what had happened by now? How long had he been asleep? So many questions were tumbling around inside Ash's head.

A few minutes later, the silence was broken by the sound of approaching feet. Ash tensed up, his fists clenching. Was it his kidnapper? He took in a sharp breath as he listened to the sound of somebody fumbling with the door. A moment later, the door opened and two people stepped into the room. Ash immediately recognised them and his mouth dropped open in shock.

The Pokémon Hunter, J, stepped forward and her mouth stretched thinly in a frosty smile. "So you are finally awake, brat. We've been waiting a while."

Ash narrowed his eyes, throwing a hateful glare at her. J was an evil thief who stole Pokémon and he had tried his best to interrupt so many of her schemes. He certainly hadn't expected her to actually kidnap him. What reason could she possibly have to do something like this? His gaze moved from the woman to the silver haired man standing next to her and he frowned in confusion. That man standing there was undoubtedly Zero, the one who had tried to take over the Reverse World and almost killed Giratina in the process. Yet, hadn't he been trapped in his ship? Ash was so sure that Officer Jenny would have taken him to prison after that. He couldn't possibly have escaped from that ice prison by himself.

"What's going on?" Ash asked angrily. "So you two know each other, do you? I thought Officer Jenny would have arrested you." He looked at Zero with narrow eyes. "Weren't you trapped in your ship?"

"Zero here is my cousin," J replied. "I freed him from prison. He's family, after all. I was doing him a favour."

"A favour, huh?" Ash gritted his teeth. "You should both be behind bars where you belong!"

Zero suddenly walked toward him and raised a fist, sharply striking the boy across the face with it. Ash gasped as pain exploded in his face, his head snapping back from the blow. He stared up at Zero with wide eyes, a shudder running through his body. The man leaned down over him, his gaze boring into Ash's.

"You are nothing but an annoying, meddling little brat," Zero hissed. "If it hadn't been for you, I might have been able to get away with everything. I could have become the ruler of the reverse world and nobody would have been able to stop me. My dreams were destroyed before my eyes. I spent days behind bars. Do you have any idea how miserable it is in prison? At last I'm out, thanks to my cousin, and we've got some interesting things in store for you." He straightened and backed away, chuckling.

Ash swallowed nervously, not liking the sound of that. He really wasn't keen on finding out what interesting things Zero was talking about. "So, that's what this is all about?" he asked sourly. "You kidnapped me to get revenge or something like that?"

"Correct," replied J. "I have had quite enough of you constantly interfering with my job. You even had to go and interfere with a member of my family. We are going to pay you back for everything that you have done to us." She stepped toward him, her cold blue eyes penetrating his stare. "You are going to suffer like never before. When we are done, you will be wishing that you had stayed out of my way from the very beginning."

Ash gazed at her defiantly. "I'm not afraid of you!" he burst out. "My friends will realise something happened and they will find me. The police will catch you and put you behind bars for good."

J chuckled, her mouth twitching in a ghost of a smile. "You just keep hoping, brat. When we're done with you, you won't even know the meaning of that word anymore."

"It's time we gave you a little taster of what you're in for." Zero smiled, his eyes glinting. "Shall we?" He looked at his cousin.

"We shall." J's smile widened.

x-o-x-o-x

Ash had been taken out of the room by J's men and now he was in a different room, strapped down to a table and staring up at the ceiling. He looked around with a confused expression, wondering what it was that J and Zero were planning to do to him. His captors approached the table and he watched them nervously. Now he wasn't feeling quite so confident when he was at their mercy like this.

"What are you going to do?" Ash asked faintly.

"I went to a lot of trouble for this." J withdrew a Poké Ball from her pocket. "I considered it to be vital to our scheme." She pressed the white button on the Poké Ball and it opened up to let out a stream of white light that took on the form of a shadowy Pokémon with blue eyes, a red collar and a wispy white head.

Ash gasped in astonishment as he stared at the hovering Pokémon. "How did you manage to get hold of a Darkrai?"

J walked around the table until she was standing next to his head and she leaned over until her face was just a few inches away from his. "I am the best Pokémon hunter in the whole world and I have a lot of technology that you haven't even seen in action yet. There is no Pokémon in the world that I couldn't possibly get a hold of." Her upper lip curled in a sneer. "I have to be prepared to get any type of Pokémon at any time, no matter how difficult the challenge. The money is worth it. Sadly, I'm not getting paid for the capture of Darkrai, but seeing you suffer will be enough of a reward."

The shocked Pokémon trainer's gaze moved back to Darkrai. "You are planning to give me nightmares, huh? That all?" He had been a victim of Darkrai twice before and while the dreams had been rather unsettling, they hadn't left him shaking in terror afterward. This probably wasn't going to be so bad. Now he wasn't feeling too worried.

"Hmph. You won't be quite so confident once you've seen his power in action." J scowled. "Darkrai is prepared to give you the most horrific nightmares possible. Of course, this isn't all we have planned for you, but you'll find out about the rest in due time. After all, this is only a preview of the true terror you are in for."

"Now, Darkrai," Zero spoke. "Hit him with your Dark Void and make that brat suffer." He grinned, flashing a row of pearly white teeth.

Darkrai floated up and hovered over Ash, forming a dark purple energy ball in one hand. Ash screwed his eyes shut and tensed, waiting for the attack. The Dark Void struck his body and he was rapidly pulled away into the waiting world of nightmares.

_The chilly wind howled through the trees and buffeted his thin body, causing him to shiver violently and wrap his arms around himself. The light of the moon illuminated the path before him, straying ahead and winding through a thick cluster of trees. He looked over his shoulder only to see endless darkness behind him. Not even the moonlight could penetrate that chilling darkness and he was afraid to enter it, which meant he would need to go through the woods._

_As he stepped into the woods, he heard the unearthly screech of a Hoothoot and shuddered. He was alone in the darkness and such sounds only made him feel even more afraid. He took a deep breath in an effort to calm himself and continued to walk along the path._

_"Ash..." an eerie feminine voice called out to him, echoing off the trees. "Ash..."_

_Who was calling his name? Ash found himself walking toward the source of the voice, even though he wasn't sure he wanted to go that way in the first place. He wandered off the path and scrambled over the undergrowth until he spotted a thin girl with red hair, wearing a yellow top and shorts. She turned her gaunt face toward his, aquamarine eyes full of accusation._

_"M-misty?" Ash asked in surprise._

_"You left me," Misty whispered in a hoarse voice, staggering toward him. "Why did you leave me?" she asked in a wheedling voice filled with hurt._

_"What?" Ash blinked in confusion. "I didn't leave you. What are you talking about?"_

_"Yes, you did," Misty insisted. "You left me all alone. How could you? You even replaced me." Her hands latched onto his wrists, causing him to wince. Her grip was surprisingly strong. "It's okay though, now you're here," the girl whispered, her face coming so close Ash could feel her breath on his own face. "I'm not going to let you leave me again." Her mouth stretched into a maniacal smile and she released his wrists, only for her hands to move up to his neck._

_"N-no!" Ash gasped out as he felt her start to squeeze his throat. He frantically kicked out, catching her in the stomach and Misty went flying off him. Then he heard a sharp crack as she hit the ground and stared in wide eyed horror. Misty's head rested upon a large rock and blood rapidly flowed out, staining it crimson._

_The horrified young boy sank to the ground, trembling all over as he stared at the body of his friend. He had killed her. She had tried to kill him. Why? Why would Misty ever try to do that? Tears pooled up in his eyes and he let out a sob. This wasn't right. Misty would never hurt him, let alone try to kill him._

_Misty suddenly began to move, her wide open mouth transforming into a grin. She lifted herself clean off the rock and began to walk toward him even as blood gushed out from her head and cascaded down the side of her body. "Ash," she spoke in a guttural voice that sounded nothing like her._

_Ash screamed and leaped to his feet, turning and running back through the trees. His heart pounded rapidly in his chest and he breathed heavily. Tears started to rain down his cheeks. What was going on here?_

_He burst into a clearing and stopped at the sight of Brock sitting before a steaming pot and stirring it. "Brock!" Ash exclaimed, walking over. He glanced at the pot, seeing chunks of meat swimming around inside a murky brown liquid. How come Brock was cooking so late at night? "I just saw Misty... she tried to kill me... and then I thought I killed her, but... she just got up again and there was so much blood..."_

_"It's okay, Ash," Brock said calmly. "I'm almost done cooking dinner." He raised the ladle, liquid dripping off the side, and ate the contents, licking his lip. "It's quite delicious. I'm sure you'll like it."_

_Ash watched him with a confused look on his face. "Brock... isn't it late? Why are you cooking out here?"_

_"Well, why not?" Brock smiled at him. "Aren't you hungry? I'm feeling pretty peckish myself and I thought I'd make a nice stew, but I decided to try something new for a change."_

_"Something new?" Ash repeated. "What do you mean?"_

_"The meat," Brock responded. "I don't think anyone's ever tried cooking this before."_

_Ash stared at the pot, the smell of cooked meat flooding his nostrils. "What is it?" he asked curiously. Wait, why did he even want to know that? This wasn't the time to be thinking about food. Misty was out there and she wanted to kill him. Why didn't Brock seem to care?_

_Brock gestured at a small table behind him. Ash hadn't noticed that table before. He slowly moved toward the table and stopped._

_Pikachu lay upon the table, staring up at him with a horrified look on his face. His torso had been torn open, leaving a gaping hole where his innards should have been. Blood stained the table, which was littered with various organs that had once sustained the electric mouse's life._

_A loud scream of agony tore its way from deep within Ash as he looked upon the remains of his best friend. His eyes were as wide as saucers and his face had turned deathly pale. "PIKACHU!"_

_"Come on, Ash." Brock was standing behind him. "Why don't you try it?"_

_Ash shakily turned around, looking at Brock's passive, smiling face. How could he be so calm about something like this? "You... you killed Pikachu!" he cried out tearfully._

_"It's delicious." Brock brandished the ladle before Ash's face, his other hand shooting out and grabbing Ash's jacket. "Come on, try it."_

_Ash shuddered as the ladle came toward his mouth. There was absolutely no way he could ever eat that. "No! I won't!" he shouted, swinging furiously at the ladle and sending it falling to the ground. "How could you?"_

_Brock's smile vanished and his expression changed to one of cold fury. He reached out and grasped a fistful of hair at the back of Ash's head. "I told you to try it," he spoke in a harsh voice. "You should have listened to me."_

_Ash gasped as Brock shoved him forward, causing him to fall to his knees before the pot. He didn't even have a chance to react as Brock quickly pushed his head into the pot, forcing it beneath the surface of the steaming liquid._

_Ash's face burned. He held his breath and kept his mouth shut, unwilling to swallow the vile concoction within that pot. His skin was blistering from the heat and it was so hard not to cry out in pain. His chest began to burn. The terrified boy flailed about frantically and managed to knock the pot over, sending the contents splashing onto the ground._

_Brock released him just for a moment, but that moment was all Ash needed. He shoved him aside with all his strength and began to run._

_What was going on here?_

_Misty wasn't acting like herself and neither was Brock._

_Ash felt his body drain of all energy and collapsed to his knees, sobbing frantically. After a few minutes of crying, he looked up to see a large tree before him._

_However, what really caught his attention was the people lying against the trunk._

_May's throat gaped openly at him in a macabre smile. Trails of dried blood ran down her orange shirt._

_Max's head had been caved in by some unknown blunt object. His face had also been smashed in and he was only recognisable by the clothes he wore._

_Dawn's glassy eyes bulged out. Her face was puffy and blue. Her pink scarf was wound tightly around her neck._

_"I killed them all," said a cheery voice from behind Ash. "You replaced me with them, didn't you? So I got rid of them."_

_Ash felt like he was going to throw up. He weakly looked over his shoulder at Misty's beaming face. She was still drenched in blood. It continued to pour from the ugly gash in the side of her head and yet she paid no attention to it. He couldn't even bring himself to speak._

_"You shouldn't have left me," Misty said in a cold voice. "You should have stayed with me, Ash. I wouldn't have had to kill them."_

Ash mercifully jolted awake at that point, screaming in terror. His skin was coated in sweat and his heart hammered away at a rapid pace. His eyes were wet with tears. He breathed in and out in an effort to calm himself down. It had only been a nightmare after all. Everyone was alive. Brock hadn't cooked Pikachu and Misty hadn't killed anyone.

"That must have been quite a nightmare," Zero spoke, startling him. The man chuckled in amusement.

"I knew getting Darkrai was a good idea." J smiled. "There's a lot worse to come, brat. I bet you aren't feeling so confident now."

Ash swallowed heavily, tears coursing down his face. He couldn't believe how awful that nightmare had been. It was incredibly gory and had seemed so real at the same time that it was a surprise to wake up and realise that none of it had been real. If this really was just a taster, then he absolutely dreaded what else was to come.

J summoned her men to take Ash from the table and they carried him away, taking him to a new room that contained a bed and nothing else. Ash was dropped onto the bed and he lay there, still reeling from the shock of that awful, vivid nightmare. The men left, locking the door behind them and trapping Ash inside.


	4. Chapter 4

**Cold Blooded**

Ash barely slept at all that night. He had been left alone in the room ever since he'd been forced to suffer through that terrifying nightmare. The only time anybody came to his room was when someone delivered a bowl of soup and some bread to him on a tray. Since he hadn't eaten all day, he had immediately eaten the food without thinking. It hadn't occured to him that the food might have been tampered with, which he wouldn't have put past his captors. Fortunately for him, the food was fine and he hadn't suffered for it.

The young trainer lay on his bed, looking around the small room again. There were no windows or vents, nothing that he could possibly use as a means of escape. Of course J and Zero wouldn't have been so foolish as to put him in a room that he could escape. The only way out was through that door and of course it was locked.

Ash sighed heavily and rolled over onto his side. When was somebody going to come and save him? The police had to at least be looking for him. Brock and Dawn would definitely have alerted them when they realised he was missing. Was there a chance they could find him? Even Ash didn't know where he was for that matter. By the time he had woken up, he was already inside this building. If J had brought him here in her airship, then he could be somewhere far away from the place where he had been abducted. It was going to be difficult for them to find him in that case. Ash swallowed heavily and curled up in a ball, trying not to dwell on the matter.

They would find him eventually. He couldn't start losing hope already. The police would come and save him, then J and Zero would be put away for good. Ash wondered how long he was going to have to wait. The sooner they found him, the better. After yesterday, he was afraid of what else J and Zero had planned for him. They really were serious about this whole revenge thing and he wasn't going to be getting off lightly. Ash shivered and curled up in a ball, biting his bottom lip. He really didn't want to have another experience like yesterday. That nightmare had been much too disturbing and unlike any nightmare he had ever had before. He was still haunted by the vivid images of his dead friends and Misty with the blood running down her head.

There was a sound at the door and it opened a moment later. Ash warily looked up to see J and Zero enter the room with two men behind them.

"Are you ready?" J smiled cruelly. "We're going to have some fun today."

"I'll bet you couldn't sleep after our little treat yesterday," Zero spoke mockingly. "Of course, it's only going to get worse. I don't think you'll ever have a good night's sleep again once we're done with you."

Ash kept his mouth shut, refusing to rise to the bait. He wasn't give them that satisfaction. The men stepped forward and roughly pulled him off the bed, escorting him out of the room. They walked up a flight of steps and through a hallway until they came to a door. It slid open as J pressed a button and they entered the room.

There was a various assortment of things scattered around the room. Tools were lined up on racks attached to the walls. A wooden table sat in the center of the room and there was a metal chair nearby, with a contraption of buttons and levers next to it. There was also a large metal box on the floor that seemed just about big enough for a person to fit inside. Ash looked around the room and gulped. This didn't look like an ordinary room. He had a feeling that everything in here was intended to be used on him somehow.

"I bet you've never been tortured before," J spoke with a slight smile. "This is going to be quite the experience for you."

Ash's eyes widened slightly and he shrank back, a shudder running through his body. He most definitely did not want to be tortured. Wasn't that going too far? How could J and Zero think that it was okay to treat him like this? They really were messed up in the head to come up with this kind of scheme.

"We'll start with the chair," J spoke to the men.

"It will be quite shocking." Zero grinned at the pun. Nobody else smiled however. The men pulled Ash over to the chair and shoved him into it, swiftly strapping his arms and legs so that he couldn't get away. A large wad of cloth was stuffed securely into his mouth.

Ash was getting a good idea of what this chair was intended for. Still, he tried not to worry about it too much. It couldn't really be worse than getting shocked by Pikachu, could it?

J approached the chair and flipped a switch. Ash felt the chair start to hum softly as the mechanism turned on. He took a deep breath and steeled himself for what was to come.

Then a sharp blast of electricity emitted from the chair, sending a massive jolt of electricity through Ash and causing him to scream. It really wasn't much worse than any of Pikachu's attacks, but it still hurt. The electricity lasted for several seconds then came to a stop. Ash sank into the chair, his chest heaving furiously. He saw Zero move the lever down a couple of notches. Then the electricity started up once more. This time, it was much more intense and painful.

J and Zero continued to shock Ash for the next half hour, constantly cranking up the electricity and zapping him for several seconds at a time. Sometimes they even did it for up to one minute. At some points, Ash would begin to pass out from the pain, but the next burst of electricity would jolt him awake again. At the end, tears were coursing down his face and he was mentally begging for them to stop doing it. It was so intensely painful and the amount of time he had to suffer through each shock only made it even worse.

Ash had grown so weak after his ordeal that he couldn't even stand up when he was lifted out of the chair. All the energy had been drained from his body and he was exhausted. Parts of his skin and clothes had even been burned by the electricity. He was barely aware of what was going on around him and only realised what was happening when he was suddenly pushed to the floor in front of the metal box. Ash couldn't even fight back as he was forced into the box. It was so small that he had to hug his knees to his chest and keep his head down with his chin pressing into his knees. The open part of the box slammed on him and he found himself sealed in the darkness. He heard the sound of a bolt sliding over the opening, trapping him within the metal box.

All of a sudden, there was a loud bang as something slammed into the side of the metal box. The force of the impact made Ash gasp in shock and he felt pain shooting up his side. As he felt another impact, he realised it sounded as if somebody was striking the box with some kind of pipe or a heavy object. The box rocked wildly as it was slammed into repeatedly, the sides becoming dented over time. Ash clutched his head and whimpered, crying out each time the box was struck.

It was so terrifying, trapped inside the darkness with the loud noise of the unknown object striking the box, and feeling pain every time it was hit. He was packed so tightly into that cramped metal box that he could feel every single blow as if they were raining down on his own body and not the box.

"Please stop..." Ash whispered, tears streaming down his face.

_BANG._

"Stop..."

_BANG._

"Please stop it!"

_BANG._

"Stopitstopitstopitstopit!"

_BANG. BANG. BANG._

"I can't take any more!" Ash screamed out in a weak voice, dissolving into sobs. He was so sick of the noise and the pain. Why wouldn't they stop? Why were they doing this to him? He didn't deserve to be treated like this.

Ten minutes later, the bangs ceased. Ash heard the sound of footsteps moving away and then a door sliding shut. He held his breath, waiting for somebody to release him from the box.

There was only silence.

"Is anyone there?" Ash shouted. He waited.

The silence was all that greeted his question. There were no voices, no footsteps, nothing at all. It seemed that he was alone, still locked inside this box. Ash felt a surge of panic. That couldn't be. They hadn't left him alone inside this box, had they?

"Let me out!" Ash cried out, trying to bang against the sides of the box. It was a futile effort however as he could barely even move his limbs. "Is anyone there? Please let me out of here!"

There wasn't anyone there to hear him shout. Ash silently waited, hoping that someone would come back to the room to let him out. He didn't care what they did next, he just wanted to get out of this box. As he continued to wait, his limbs began to cramp and his body ached. Ash closed his eyes and hugged himself tighter. A tear slid down his cheek. For the first time, he was beginning to feel truly afraid. J and Zero really were evil. They enjoyed causing him pain and being cruel to him. They would stop at nothing to get their revenge on him.

The hours slid by...

The silence was broken at last by the sound of the door. Ash was so relieved when the door was opened and he felt the air rushing into the stuffy metal box. It had been hot and unbearable in there and being so horribly cramped had just made it even worse. He never wanted to be put inside that awful box ever again. He was roughly yanked out of the box and dragged toward the table, where he was lifted up and dropped onto the surface. Leather straps were fastened around his arms and legs, pinning him down.

Ash gazed up at the ceiling, his eyes widening in fear. It wasn't over yet.

Zero approached him with a claw hammer and smiled wickedly. Ash let out a faint whimper as he stared at the hammer, his body shuddering. That thing could easily be used to kill him, but he had a feeling Zero wasn't planning to do that. J and Zero weren't done with him, not by a long shot.

The claw hammer smashed down upon one of Ash's knees. Sheer agony exploded where it had struck and Ash released a scream of pain, tears rushing to his eyes. He sobbed loudly, gulping in air between breaths. That blow had been incredibly painful.

Zero's smile widened. He was pleased to hear Ash scream so intensely and wanted to hear it again. He deftly raised the hammer and struck the other knee, relishing the fresh screams that rang in his ears. Ash's sobs intensified and he made a loud whimpering noise while tears rolled down his cheeks.

J stepped forward, holding up a pair of large pliers. It was her turn to torture Ash now and she reached out, flattening Ash's hand on the table with fingernails facing up. Ash turned his head and stared at the pliers in shock, his face paling even more than it was already. "No, please," he begged in a faint voice. She couldn't seriously be planning to remove his fingernails, could she? That had to hurt a lot.

J fastened the pliers around the nail on the index finger. Ash was thrashing about within the straps, trying to free his hands, even though it was completely useless. Even if he could get free of those straps, he wouldn't be able to walk away with such badly bruised knees, let alone run. She was amused nonetheless by his futile efforts. With a sharp tug, she ripped the fingernail free, tearing it from the skin beneath. Ash howled, thrashing about even harder which only made the pain in his knees intensify.

Zero drummed the flat end of the hammer against the palm of his hand, a dreamy look in his eyes as he listened to Ash's cries. This was the most enjoyable experience he had ever had in his life. He relished seeing the boy who had screwed up his plans in such pain and couldn't wait for what else was to come already. J also enjoyed it immensely. It was thrilling to see the cocky, righteous brat at her mercy, crying in pain as they tortured him. With those thoughts, she coldly ripped off another fingernail from the middle finger.

Ash felt dizzy from the pain and white splotches appeared before his eyes. He could barely breathe. "Stop..." he whispered, gritting his teeth. He just wanted this to end. He couldn't take any more pain. It was just too much.

J's only response was to tear the fingernail off the ring finger. She discarded it and chuckled softly, gazing at Ash's face. His skin was white as bone and he was drenched in sweat. It had been an excruciating experience for him. "That's enough for today," she said briskly. "We'll continue tomorrow."

"Can't I hit him just one more time?" Zero asked, looking longingly at the claw hammer. He would have liked to have smashed it into Ash's head and watched his brains ooze out with bits of skull, but J wouldn't be impressed. They had brought him here to break him into lots of tiny little pieces. It was still too soon to be killing him.

"That's enough, Zero," J said firmly, giving him a sharp look. Zero sighed and went to put the claw hammer away. He hated having to follow her orders and do what she wanted, but it wouldn't be right to try and stand up to her after everything she had done for him. If it wasn't for her, he would still be rotting in that jail cell.

J's men stepped forward and unstrapped Ash from the table. One of them bodily lifted him up and escorted him from the room. Ash hung limply in the man's arms, staring ahead with a dazed look on his face. He was exhausted after everything he had been through and still in so much pain. Blood was dripping from his fingers and his knees throbbed mercilessly. When he was put down on his bed, he closed his eyes and begged sleep to come and take him away so that he wouldn't have to feel the pain anymore.


	5. Chapter 5

**Cold Blooded**

Ash opened his eyes and rolled over onto his back, sighing. Another day had gone by in this awful place and he would be facing even more torture today. Wasn't anybody ever going to come and save him? It had to be hard to find him when nobody knew where he was. A shiver of fear passed through his body as he imagined the worst. Perhaps he was somewhere where he would never be found. Was he even in Sinnoh? He could be anywhere in the world for all he knew. The thought wasn't a pleasant one and he pushed it away. He had to keep hoping that sooner or later he would be rescued.

The fingers on his hand where J had removed his fingernails were still throbbing faintly. Ash raised his hand and grimaced at the sight of crusted blood where the fingernails had once been. There were trails of dry blood running over his fingers as well. The sight made him feel sick and he swallowed. How could J have done something so sickening and cruel? It had been incredibly painful when she had ripped his nails off, just as it had been painful when Zero all but smashed his knees and they had shocked him repeatedly. They loved seeing him in pain.

How was it possible that a human being could be so evil and despicable? It defied all belief. Ash sat up in the bed and his knees throbbed in complaint. He pulled up his pants and looked at them. A dark bruise spread across both knees and they hurt when he gently prodded them. It was going to be hard to walk for a while. At least they hadn't been broken.

Ash fell back onto the pillow and closed his eyes. How much longer was he going to have to endure this?

About an hour later, the door opened. Ash's spirits sank as he saw J, Zero and a couple of men enter the room. It was time for him to be tortured again. He drew in a deep breath and held it, tingling with nervousness as the men bodily lifted him off the bed. He was utterly dreading this. They would probably come up with something even worse than what they had done to him yesterday.

The shivering young boy was brought to the same room where he had been subjected to Darkrai's awful nightmare. Again, he was put on the table and strapped down.

"Are you ready for another nightmare?" J smiled chillingly.

"Don't think we're going easy on you," Zero taunted. "We have even more planned after this."

Ash blinked back tears and tensed, watching as J sent out the dark legendary Pokémon. He could handle this. It couldn't be much worse than the last nightmare, could it? He just needed to remember that it was only a dream. Dreams weren't real. They couldn't hurt. He repeated this to himself as Darkrai built up a dark ball of energy and fired it at him. Immediately, he was pulled away into the nightmare world.

_Ash walked along the pavement, gazing around at the tall buildings that surrounded him. They were lit up by the dull streetlights that ran along the street. The sky overhead was dark and he couldn't see the stars. A chilly wind blew past him and he shivered. It was uncomfortably cold. This city seemed unfamiliar and he wondered where he was. Was there a Pokémon Center close by? It couldn't hurt to take a look._

_A deep growl somewhere far behind him caused Ash to jump and he nervously glanced over his shoulder to see the streetlights begin to go out, one by one. The darkness was creeping up on him and he knew he couldn't let it engulf him. In a blind panic, he began to run down the street. The streetlights winked out even faster and the darkness rushed upon him. Something snagged around Ash's ankle and he crashed to the ground, stars exploding before his eyes as his chin struck the gravel. His mouth opened in a soundless scream as he was dragged backward into the darkness. It was blacker than night and it terrified him. He couldn't see anything anymore, not even the streetlights up ahead._

_Ash had the strange sensation that he was sinking into the ground. Hands scrabbled at his body and ripped his clothes to pieces. His red baseball cap was removed from his head. His shoes were pulled off. It wasn't long before his body was completely naked. He shivered violently as the icy cold hands stroked his body. A pair of hands closed around his neck, squeezing the breath out of him. More hands clamped over his nose and mouth. His vision was blocked when a hand covered his eyes. The hands were everywhere, clutching every part of his body as they pulled him down. He wanted to struggle, to scream, but he couldn't. His chest burned as he struggled to breathe, pressure built up in his head. It was unbearable._

_Sharp nails plunged into his chest and cold fingers wrapped themselves around his still beating heart. Pain exploded in his chest as the fingers squeezed tighter and tighter around the organ, until it burst._

_Ash sat up in bed, screaming and drenched with sweat. He sat there, gasping and sobbing with sweat dripping off his body. The terrified boy looked around the room, realising that he was in his bedroom back home in Pallet Town. Strangely enough, Pikachu wasn't there. Ash clambered down the ladder out of bed and moved toward the open door. As he made his way to the stairs, he could hear faint voices down below. Ash quickly came downstairs to see his mother and Professor Oak standing near the front door._

_They were both clad in dark clothing and had sad expressions in their faces. Professor Oak laid a hand on Delia's shoulder. "It's time to go," he said softly. Delia took a shaky breath and nodded._

_"Mom, Professor?" Ash approached them. "What's going on?"_

_Neither of them seemed to hear him. Professor Oak pulled open the door and Delia stepped outside, her shoulders shaking slightly. Ash watched on open mouthed as Professor Oak went through as well. He hastily followed them before the door could close._

_It seemed like they hadn't heard him, but why? Ash continued to follow them through the town and he noticed that other people were also going in the same direction. They too were dressed in dark clothes. A chill tricked down Ash's spine and he swallowed heavily. Were they going to a funeral?_

_Fear crept through his chest and he wrapped his arms around himself, shivering. It couldn't be his funeral, could it?_

_"Mom?" Ash spoke in a teary voice. "Mom! Please... can't you hear me at all?" She didn't even turn her head or indicate she had heard him in any way. Neither did Professor Oak. They couldn't see or hear him._

_He spotted a crowd of people up ahead and hurried over to get a good look at them. Misty was there, trying to console a tearful Pikachu, as were Brock, May, Max, Tracey, Gary, Dawn and a few other people Ash had come to know on his journey. His heart sank like a stone dropped into water._

_"No..." Ash whispered, trembling violently and shaking his head. "No! No!" He screamed and fell to his knees, clutching his head and sobbing. "I can't be dead! I'm too young to die! I wanted to become a Pokémon Master... I can't be... this isn't fair..."_

_Ash was forced to watch, in a flood of tears, as a coffin was carried toward the six foot hole in the ground that everyone was gathered round. Nobody heard his hysterical sobs. Someone walked right through him, but he didn't care. All he could think about was his own body cramped inside that wooden box. It was slowly lifted down into the grave, out of sight. His eyes fixed upon the tombstone and he saw his own name etched upon the grey surface._

_Suddenly, he felt himself being pulled toward the ground and shot through it. Ash gasped, opening his eyes and blinking in confusion. It was so dark, he couldn't see a thing. His body was jolted by a sharp vibration and he heard an odd sound, like clods of earth hitting a solid object. Ash raised his hands and pressed them against a smooth wooden surface. His eyes grew wide in horror and he felt around him, finding that he was inside some kind of box._

_A flood of panic seized him and he desperately cried out, hammering upon the coffin lid. "Help me!" he screamed, praying that somebody up there would hear him. "Let me out!" Dirt continued to fall upon the coffin. Ash frantically scrabbled at the wood until his nails broke and the wood splintered. Blood welled up on his fingertips where the skin had been badly scraped._

_"HELP!" Ash screamed as loud as he could, banging his fists. Why couldn't they hear him? He was shouting so loud and yet they continued to bury him. His chest rose and shook with frantic gasps. It was becoming hard to breathe and now he was growing dizzy. "Help..." he spoke again, much weaker this time and his hands fell to his sides. Ash closed his eyes and breathed his last._

Ash woke up suddenly, sobbing frantically and gasping for breath. It took him a few moments to realise that he was alive after all and it had only been an awful nightmare. Those nightmares were horribly realistic and he ended up thinking they were real. He clenched his teeth and glared at J and Zero, unwilling to show weakness. "I don't know what you're trying to do to me, but it won't work."

"Oh, really?" J's mouth curved in an evil smile. "We have a lot planned for you today. Sooner or later, you will break." She ordered her men to remove Ash from the table and they carried him to another room, which he hadn't been in yet. A fireplace flickered brightly, illuminating the dim room. Ash was pushed up against the wall and hanging cuffs clamped around his wrists. His feet dangled a few inches above the floor. His eyes darted to the dancing flames and he gulped.

"You're not going to do what I think you're going to do, are you?" Ash asked fearfully.

Zero answered his question by picking up a poker by the fireplace and thrusting it into the flames. While he slowly burned it, J stepped toward Ash and unzipped his jacket, then lifted his shirt over his head. Ash frantically kicked and struggled to no avail, tears of panic welling up in his eyes.

"Please don't!" Ash screamed as J undid his pants and pulled them down. She stepped back and sneered at him. Ash whimpered in fear, biting his bottom lip. It was all too clear what was going to happen.

Zero removed the poker and approached Ash, his eyes gleaming with malice. The tip of the poker glowed bright red. He pressed it against the bare flesh of Ash's body and there was a soft hissing sound as the flesh started to burn. Ash screamed. Zero removed the poker and applied the tip elsewhere. He continued to do this until there were raw red burns all over Ash's torso and stomach. Ash had grown weak from all the screaming and hung limply. His face was pale and sweat tricked down his exposed skin.

Ash wished he could pass out already and then he wouldn't have to endure any more pain. It was unbelievable how much it could hurt. He was hurting all over. Some of the burns on his skin had begun to blister and weep. He didn't have the energy to scream any more and his throat had grown raw with pain. He could only manage a high pitched cry as Zero moved on to burning his legs.

"That's enough, Zero," J spoke. "It's my turn now."

Ash thought J was planning to burn him with the poker as well, but Zero replaced the poker by the fireplace. He watched in horror as J picked up a whip and raised it, smiling at him menacingly.

The whip lashed into his burned skin and he cried out in agony. J whipped him again and again, laughing each time he cried out. Blood welled up where the whip had cut into the skin. J took extra care to whip Ash where he had been burned, hurting him even more. Drops of blood dripped down Ash's body, mingling with the sweat and tears. Ash closed his eyes and gritted his teeth against the intense pain. His chest heaved with sobs and he moaned. When would this stop? This was the worst pain he had ever experienced in his whole life.

J eventually ceased whipping Ash and she stepped so close that Ash could feel her breath on his face. "I bet you're sorry you ever dared to get in my way now, you pathetic brat," she hissed in a soft voice.

Ash raised his head and stared at her with hard eyes. He knew he had done the right thing every time and wouldn't ever wish he had done otherwise. Those Pokémon had needed to be saved. "I don't regret anything," he spoke in a hoarse voice.

J pressed her lips together in a thin line, frowning in disapproval. "You really are impertinent," she hissed, raising the whip and wrapping it tightly around Ash's neck.

Ash thrashed and kicked about in alarm as he found himself unable to breathe. The whip bit tighter into his windpipe, causing his tongue to protrude from his mouth. His chest burned as his lungs pleaded for oxygen.

"Oh my god," Zero spoke in disgust. "He's pissing himself."

J looked down and saw a steady stream of pee running down Ash's leg. She grimaced and removed the whip, taking a step back. "You vile little piece of shit!" she snapped, lashing out and slapping Ash's face hard.

Ash was so relieved to be able to breathe again, he couldn't even feel ashamed of what he had done. It was her own fault for doing that to him in the first place. He had been so terrified when she was strangling him that he had ended up losing control of his bladder. She was completely sick and twisted.

"Time for the next torture." Zero walked toward him, clutching a fistful of pins. "J, if you would hold his hand for me?"

Ash quivered in fright as she raised the hand that hadn't had the fingernails removed from it, holding firmly onto his wrist so that he couldn't pull it away. His eyes stuck fast to the pins in Zero's hand. He knew it was going to hurt, whatever it was Zero was planning to do.

Zero rammed a pin firmly beneath one of Ash's fingernails, pushing it down as hard as he could. The nail turned red as blood blossomed beneath it. J held tighter onto Ash's wrist so that his hand wouldn't come away as he thrashed about, yelling in pain.

"Stop it!" Ash pleaded. "No more, please! I can't take it anymore!"

Of course, Zero paid no heed to Ash's frantic protests as he continued to embed the pins between every single nail upon Ash's hand. He extracted a small hammer from his pocket and took great pleasure in smashing it down upon the fingertips, driving the pins so deep that they drove right into the cuticles. Crimson drops splashed to the floor.

Ash moaned and shut his eyes, gasping as he felt Zero sharply wrenching the pins from beneath the nails. J released his hand and it hung limply by his side.

They wanted him to break, didn't they? Ash almost wished that he would, just so that they would stop doing it, but how would he know when he had broken? Was he supposed to apologise for everything that he had done? He couldn't do that. He had been doing the right thing all along. J and Zero were villains, who did terrible things, and he couldn't allow people like them to get away with it.

"Alright, we're done for today," J spoke to the men. "Get the disgusting little brat cleaned up and take him back to his room. He won't be getting fed today, so don't take him any food or water either."

When he was back in his room, Ash painfully curled up on the bed and sobbed. He was so sick of this. The pangs of hunger grew in his stomach, but they were nothing compared to the burns and welts that scarred his body. His hand throbbed with fiery hot pain. He was tired of pain.


	6. Chapter 6

**Cold Blooded**

Ash had barely slept at all through the night with his body in too much pain. Every time he moved, fresh pain would shoot through his body. The pangs of hunger in his stomach had grown too loud to ignore. When he did manage to sleep, he suffered from terrifying and disturbing dreams that quickly woke him up. They were almost as bad as Darkrai's nightmares.

Was it morning yet? He didn't know what time it was. All he knew was that he had been lying here for hours, suffering in the darkness while his wounds ached and his stomach growled. Ash carefully pulled his legs to his chest, taking care not to hurt himself, and wrapped his arms around them in the fetal position. He closed his eyes and took several shaky breaths. How much more of this was he going to have to suffer through? Would he ever be free?

What if it carried on forever? Supposing he was never found and J and Zero continued to torture him mercilessly for days, weeks or even months? What if they eventually got fed up and just outright killed him? They couldn't be planning to keep this up forever. Sooner or later, they might just get tired of this and kill him. If he had to go through much more torture, his mind would probably snap.

"I won't break," Ash whispered to himself fiercely, hot tears rushing to the surface of his eyes. A lump formed in his throat and he swallowed, forcing it down. That was what they wanted, wasn't it? The cruel pair was torturing him mentally and physically in the hope of him breaking down. Ash could already feel himself coming close to the breaking point and that scared him. He couldn't possibly lose his mind. No, that wouldn't do at all.

"I'll be saved soon," Ash whispered again, finding comfort in the sound of his own voice which broke the stifling silence in the room. "I'll see them again soon. Pikachu... Brock... Dawn... I know they are looking for me. They must be really close, right? They will find me soon, right? Please..." He sniffed loudly and wiped his eyes while envisioning the smiling faces of his best friends. It seemed like forever since that morning when he had gone down to the river and got himself kidnapped.

Even more time passed, feeling like an eternity to the young trainer, before the door opened. Ash was immediately flooded with dread as J, Zero and some of J's men entered the room. They were going to take him away and torture him again. He was roughly pulled from the bed and escorted through the hallways until they stopped outside a door. Beyond the door was a room that Ash hadn't been to yet.

There was little of interest in this room, just a flat glass pane that separated half the room. Beyond the glass pane, the room was completely empty. There was a round circle on the floor that appeared to be some kind of plughole and several large sprinklers protruded from the ceiling. A lone door granted entrance through the glass wall. Ash stared at the glass wall, completely dumbfounded. Were they planning to give him a shower?

A chill shook his body. With all these red welts and burns that covered his body, a shower was the last thing he wanted. Before Ash could say anything, he was being pinned to the floor and his clothes were being removed by J's men. He futilely attempted to struggle. In just a few minutes, he was naked and shivering. Ash was lifted onto his feet and shoved through the door past the glass wall. As the door closed behind him, J pressed a button on the wall, causing a steel panel to slide out and block the door so that Ash couldn't open it.

Ash backed away from the glass, looking up at the sprinklers in trepidation. They were so wide and there were so many, he didn't think he could avoid the water as it sprayed down on him. He shivered and turned his attention back to J and Zero, dreading the pain that was to come.

There was a panel on the wall, with two dials on them. One dial was marked with two rectangles, one blue and one red. Zero twisted the dial all the way down to red and pushed a button.

Immediately, the sprinklers came to life and the water cascaded down. It wasn't long before the water had reached boiling temperature and Ash yowled in pain. It was like being hit with lots of tiny little bullets. He collapsed to his knees, shrieking in pain as the water began turning his skin as red as a lobster. Steam rose up within his section of the room, misting on the glass until Ash was just a blur.

After about a minute, Zero turned the dial back all the way until it pointed at the blue rectangle. The water very quickly cooled down. Now it was like being blasted with shards of ice. Despite Ash having just been scalded by boiling water, it wasn't pleasant in the least when the freezing water pelted him.

After another minute had gone by, Zero turned the temperature back to boiling hot. It continued like this with the water alternating between boiling hot and freezing cold. Ash crawled across the floor weakly, trying to find somewhere that he couldn't be hit by the water. It was pointless to even try as the water was everywhere. He curled up into a shuddering ball in the corner and sobbed wretchedly, his tears mingling with the shower water that trickled down his face.

Eventually, the dial was turned to medium temperature but the water was still hurting as it lashed cruelly onto Ash's body, hammering into his wounds so quickly that they stung and throbbed viciously.

J smiled cruelly as she approached the panel and pressed a button.

Amid the sound of running water, Ash heard the sound of something grating and raised his head to see part of the floor lift up and slide over the plughole. Until now, the water had been slipping away through the plughole. Now that it was covered, the water didn't have anywhere to go. His eyes widened in terror as he realised what would happen. The water would continue to run, filling up the small section of the room he was contained within and there was nowhere for him to run. The water coming out of the sprinklers was coming so fast that an inch of water had already built up.

"No!" Ash ran to the glass panel, ignoring the pain that wracked his body, and hammered frantically with his fists. They were going to drown him. J and Zero had indeed grown tired of torturing him and now they were going to kill him. His heart beat rapidly and his breath came out in ragged gasps as he hammered furiously upon the glass, as if trying to break it. "Let me out!" he wailed. "I don't want to die!"

J and Zero faced him, smiling coldly. Ash pressed his palms and face against the glass, whimpering in terror. The water was fast rising over his ankles. He couldn't break the glass, no matter how hard he tried. The door wouldn't yield with that steel bar across it. He was trapped.

This was it...

Ash screwed his eyes shut and sobbed hysterically. He couldn't believe his life was going to be over like this. Why hadn't anyone come to save him? Now he was never going to become a Pokémon Master.

He would never see his friends again. Would they know he was dead? He imagined them continuously looking for him, never finding his body, giving up hope of ever seeing him again. Pikachu... how would Pikachu cope without him? Would he return to Professor Oak's lab and stay there for the rest of his life, mourning over the loss of his trainer and best friend?

"I can't die..." Ash spoke weakly. clenching his fists. "Please don't kill me."

His feeble pleas were ignored and the water lapped against his knees. He could scarcely believe how fast it was rising. It wasn't the first time Ash had come close to drowning, but this time was much more terrifying than the previous ones. His life hadn't been at the mercy of crazed maniacs who had taken pleasure in torturing him and clearly wanted him dead.

This was just too cruel. How could they do this to him? Why couldn't they just let him go if they were so bored of torturing him?

Ash tried not to think about the fate that awaited him and imagined the smiling faces of his friends and his mother. He hoped they wouldn't suffer too much wondering what had happened to him. If his body was never found, then it was likely they would spend their whole lives not knowing. Sooner or later, they would surely give him up for dead and come to terms with the fact they would never see him again.

At least he wasn't going to have to be tortured anymore. Ash was so glad he wasn't going to have to be put up with the agony of being tortured for much longer. It was just too much to handle. Still, losing his life was even worse.

The water was steadily rising to his hips. Ash whimpered in fear and banged on the glass again. He really wanted J and Zero to change their minds before it was too late, but would they? "Please... please!" he cried out in a high pitched voice. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! Forgive me!" Would that even work? He was beginning to feel sorry now, sorry that he had ever crossed those maniacs and given them a thirst for revenge. Then he wouldn't have had to lose his life like this after suffering so much.

The cousins didn't even seem to be paying attention to him. They were content to stand there and watch the water rise, higher and higher. Ash banged his forehead against the glass and moaned pitifully.

It was over. He really was going to die. They weren't going to forgive him and let him go.

Flashbacks of his life shot through his mind. He remembered the days when he was little, the excitement of seeing different Pokémon, growing up in Pallet Town and playing with Gary before Gary had started acting like a jerk. He remembered the time he became a Pokémon trainer and the days that followed. Travelling with Misty, Brock, Tracey, May, Max, Dawn...

Those happy days had ended the day he was kidnapped. Now he could never look forward to what the future had to hold. He wouldn't be getting his badges, competing in the Sinnoh League, finally beating his current rival Paul in a Pokémon battle, one day attaining the title of Pokémon Master... it was all over.

The water's surface was now brushing against his collarbone. He only had a precious few minutes left to live. Ash trembled in fear, feeling the water slowly move up his body.

Now it was coming up to his chin. There was only a short time left for him to live. Ash prayed that this was just some kind of mental torture J and Zero had thought up to make him think they were going to kill him. Maybe he wouldn't die here. The terrified trainer took a deep breath right before the water rose over his mouth. It didn't take long to cover his nose and that was it, he could no longer breathe.

Ash held his breath while the water went higher and higher. His lungs started to hurt but still he held it in, desperate to live for just a bit longer. The pain was unbearable, but he was used to it. After all, it wasn't the first time.

He couldn't possibly hold it in forever. His lungs felt like they were going to explode and his cheeks bulged as he struggled to hold in his precious air. The water had come to over his head now. Ash could have tried to rise with the water, but what was the point? In his state, he would end up back on the bottom and sooner or later, the whole section would be flooded with water. There would be no room left for him to breathe. It would be a futile struggle.

Ash dismally gave in and opened his mouth, a cloud of bubbles issuing from his mouth as he released the air. He instinctively tried to gulp in even more but was greeted with a rush of cold water. It was over. His last thought was of Pikachu as he slipped away toward his death. His feet lifted off the ground and his arms spread out, leaving him dangling in the water with his head bowed and his chin resting gently against his chest. Tiny little bubbles flowed from his nose.

J and Zero watched him float in the water for several minutes, laughing mockingly at the sight of Ash floating there, eyes closed and unmoving. For every second of the experience, he had believed he was drowning and done a pretty good impression of a person who was drowning.

Except he hadn't really been drowning after all. His mind had merely been convinced that he was and shut down in response. Ash might have thought he was dying, but in reality he was breathing just fine.

"The breathable water was expensive, but worth it." J had a lot of money from her successful schemes and hadn't minded spending it on some elaborate tortures for the boy in the process. She could always get more if she needed it, being the best Pokémon Hunter in all of Sinnoh.

"It's hard to believe there's such a thing." Zero shook his head. It was a bit of a pity they couldn't just have drowned him there and then. It would have been immensely satisying to watch Ash slowly die with that look of misery on his face. At least they had seen his despairing expression as he believed himself about to die, but it was quite disappointing that Ash was actually still alive.

J pressed the button and the panel slid back into place. A loud gurgling noise accompanied the rush of the water as it surged into the plughole. In just a few minutes, it was gone and Ash lay dripping wet across the floor, his chest slowly rising and falling.

"Indeed, it's hard to believe, but brilliant for torture." J sneered. "We had that brat believing that he was dying." She pressed another button, releasing the panel that held the door in place. "Someone bring him out here," she ordered, glancing at her men. One of them hastily stepped through the door and lifted Ash's limp body, dragging him back into their section of the room. The unconscious young boy didn't even stir.

A few minutes later, after a bit of rough shaking, Ash did come to and jerked upright with wide, alarmed eyes, frantically gasping and looking around in disbelief. Hadn't he breathed his last back in there? It really had felt like he was dying. Something about this didn't feel right at all. Was he dead? No, he was alive and pretty sure of it, so what was going on?

"That wasn't water as you know it." J smiled smugly. "It was a special kind of breathable water. You merely believed you were drowning in there, but in actuality it was possible for you to breathe in it."

Ash stared at her in outrage, trembling violently and clenching his fists. She was just unbelievable. Torturing him into thinking he was dying was just... it was despicable. He had been so convinced of his oncoming death, terrified as the water rushing up and devastated as he felt his life coming to an end. They had watched him act out the role of a person about to die, knowing it was just a cruel trick, and enjoyed it. He bit his bottom lip and looked down, continuing to tremble. How could they?

"I've got some things to do," J said, turning toward the door and glancing at her men. "Get him dried up and dressed, then take him back to his room. Zero, let's go." The pair walked out of the room, closing the door behind them.

Ash caught the towel as it was tossed to him and slowly rubbed himself dry, wincing as he rubbed over his welts and burns. He was glad to be going straight back to the room and not being subjected to more torture. That whole experience with the drowning trick had been horrendous enough. He still felt shaky and weird. Once his body was dry, he put his clothes back on and let the men take him back to the room. They dropped him on the bed and left him alone in the room.

Ash closed his eyes and curled up in the fetal position, trying to calm himself. His stomach was growling fiercely and he was desperate for some food. J hadn't said anything to the men about feeding him, so maybe she intended for him to starve for a bit longer. That woman really was a cruel and cold hearted bitch. How could she do this? Zero wasn't much better either. They were both pure evil and he couldn't believe they were human beings.


	7. Chapter 7

**Cold Blooded**

Almost an hour had passed since the drowning experience when Ash heard footsteps come to the door. He became perfectly still with fear, his heart hammering away in his chest. Were J and Zero planning to torture him some more already or had J decided he could be fed after all? Ash sat up and listened to the sound of the door being unlocked. It opened and Zero stepped into the room, closing it behind himself. It was strange to see Zero here alone when he had usually come with J and her men.

Zero marched toward him, amber eyes gleaming in anticipation. "I've had quite enough of this," he murmured, clenching his fists. "She just wants to keep on torturing you, seeing how far your mind can bend before it snaps, but it's getting boring."

Ash shivered, not liking the way Zero was looking at him like a wild animal about to pounce upon its prey and tear it to pieces. It sounded like Zero was acting without J's knowledge and that could be a bad thing. He was probably going to do something J wouldn't like and it was hard to imagine what kind of things a cruel woman like J might find intolerable. "What are you doing?" he whispered in a quivering voice.

Zero chuckled nastily and grabbed Ash by the front of his jacket. Ash gasped in terror as he was lifted off the bed and slammed hard against the wall. "She doesn't know that I'm here." He moved one hand to Ash's throat and started squeezing, then brought his other hand up and increased the pressure. "I'm going to make you really suffer and kill you with my own hands."

Ash wheezed and spluttered as he struggled to breathe, scrabbling frantically at Zero's wrists. His eyes were wide in horror as they bugged out. Zero put his face close, his breath misting on Ash's face. He momentarily relaxed his grip, allowing Ash to take a breath, then resumed his choking. "Every night, while I was in prison, I would think about escaping and getting my revenge on you." He moved Ash away from the wall, only to slam him against it again and cause pain to shoot up his spine. The boy's face was starting to turn blue as he was deprived of air. A sadistic smile stretched across Zero's face. "In my dreams, I would do all kinds of things to you and enjoy watching you die."

The red dots swarming in Ash's blurred vision started to turn black while darkness crept in the edges of his vision. Before he could even pass out, Zero relaxed his grip again and he gulped in air. All too quickly, Zero went back to crushing his windpipe. His hands slipped from Zero's wrists and he dangled there in Zero's grip, utterly exhausted from struggling to hold on. Tears streamed down his cheeks. His tongue felt so swollen that he couldn't speak and beg Zero to stop.

"I never thought I would really get the chance to punish you, but I did at last and it's wonderful. I enjoyed watching you screaming in pain as we tortured you, but it's not enough. I want to destroy your dreams, like you destroyed mine. I want you dead," Zero hissed. He suddenly released Ash, who dropped to the ground. The young trainer sat there, clutching his throat and retching noisily while gulping in air.

"I'm not going to kill you yet," Zero stated, his smile widening. "First, I'm going to subject you to the kind of torture you've never even imagined in your wildest dreams."

Ash stared up at Zero with wide eyes, his brow furrowing in confusion as he watched the older man begin to disrobe. "No... please don't," he whispered shakily. He had a feeling that this was going to be a particularly nasty torture.

"Stop your whining," Zero growled, bunching up his fist and sharply striking Ash in the face. "I'm not going to stop, not when I dreamed of this for so long." He lifted Ash up and threw him onto the bed. "This is going to be fun. I'm going to enjoy this so much and the best thing is, nobody is here to stop me. Without J here, I can do whatever I want to you. Oh yes. You will suffer horribly and then I will take your miserable life away." His smile widened in a manic grin.

x-o-x-o-x

J sat before a large videoscreen, watching the man on the screen speak. He was offering her several thousand dollars if she could go out and capture a Dratini for him. It sounded like a good deal to her. "Very well, I shall get you your Dratini within a week and I will contact you when I have it." She cut off the call and went to tell her men to make a note of the order.

It had been a while since they had done a job, especially since she had been so busy working on torturing that miserable brat. She had enough money to keep herself going for a long time but she was still itching to go out and do another job. That brat could wait. Zero would probably complain but she didn't care.

Speaking of Zero, J hadn't seen him in a while and she wondered where he had got to. As she was walking through the hallway, one of her henchmen came running up to her.

"Sir!" the henchman exclaimed, stopping in front of her. "I need to ask you something about that prisoner you're keeping."

"What is it?" J frowned. She doubted he had escaped. That could hardly be possible.

"Did you order Zero to work on his own?" the henchman asked. "I've just noticed him on the security monitor, in the prisoner's room."

J was stunned. Zero actually had the nerve to do something without her permission or knowledge? "Show me right now," she spoke harshly, clenching a fist.

The two hurried to the security room and J stepped up to the monitor, gasping at the sight before her. Of all the things she had thought of doing to Ash, something like that had never even crossed her mind and she could scarcely believe her eyes. "That sick son of a bitch," she whispered in a disgusted voice, her eyes narrowing as she watched him climb off the bed. He was going to pay for this.

x-o-x-o-x

Zero stood next to the bed with a dreamy smile on his face. He looked down at Ash's limp body, noticing the puddle of blood staining the sheet. Maybe he had gone a bit hard on him, but as far as he was concerned, Ash deserved it.

"Now you're going to die," Zero spoke nastily. He waited for the boy's response and frowned. Ash had gone awfully quiet but he had assumed Ash simply grew tired of screaming and crying. "Aren't you going to say something?" Only silence greeted his question and his heart skipped a beat. Had he killed him by accident? That wasn't how it was supposed to happen. He was supposed to violate him and then watch his reaction to it, before he took pleasure in extinguishing the life from him.

"Damn it!" Zero grabbed Ash's arm and pulled him over onto his back. Ash's eyes were wide open, yet they were dull and showed only the faintest spark of life. His chest moved so slightly that Zero almost couldn't see it. Indeed, Ash was still alive, but something wasn't right here.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Zero growled, soundly slapping Ash on the face. There was no reaction from him, not even a flicker in his eyes. Zero angrily punched him in the stomach. "Why won't you say anything? I want you to beg for your life, damn it! Where's the fun in killing you if you aren't even going to struggle or say anything?" He contemptuously punched Ash again, calming down only after he had delivered several sharp punches to his face and torso. Of course, Ash hadn't cried out once. He just lay still, staring into the distance.

"Did your mind finally break?" Zero sneered at the young boy. "I suppose you went somewhere far away just to escape me. Well, you know what? I'm going to kill you anyway." He pulled the pillow out from under Ash's head and brought it down on his face, pressing hard over his nose and mouth. He didn't hear the door opening but he heard a loud crack. A moment later, his leg was flooded with pain and he screamed.

Zero fell to his knees, turning his head to look toward J, who held a smoking gun in her hand. "You... you shot me!" he cried out incredulously. Blood seeped out through his fingers where he pressed his hand over the wound and he grimaced in agony.

"I certainly wasn't impressed to catch you in the act of raping him," J snarled, marching across the room toward Zero. "And I even get here in time to find you trying to kill him. I don't recall telling you it was okay to rape and murder him!" Spittle flew from her reddening face which was twisted in rage.

Zero quailed beneath her glare, swallowing heavily. "J, I'm so sorry. Please forgive me," he wheedled. "I was just so angry at him for ruining my dreams. I wanted to make him pay the ultimate price."

"So you came down here in secret without my permission to rape and kill him?" J spoke in a frosty tone. "You've gone too far, Zero. I shouldn't have bothered saving you from that prison." She raised the gun and squarely aimed it at his forehead, her mouth set in a thin line.

Zero looked at her in utter disbelief. He was her cousin and she was going to kill him in cold blood? "You really are a cold hearted bitch," he muttered.

J squeezed the trigger and another loud crack sounded throughout the room. As the bullet ripped through Zero's skull, his head exploded in a shower of blood, shards of bone and brain matter. J didn't even flinch as she watched his body slump to the floor with a dull thud. She then removed the pillow from Ash's face and looked at him with a confused frown. Had Zero already killed him? No, he was breathing. Yet, he didn't appear to be responding to anything around him. Ash didn't even twitch when J prodded him.

"Damn," J muttered. "Looks like Zero broke him good." She turned around to see two of her men standing in the doorway with shocked expressions on their faces. "What are you standing around for?" she snapped at them. "Get rid of the body and get someone to clean up in here. As for the boy... we'll just dump him at a hospital. He's completely useless now." She strode out of the room without another word.


	8. Chapter 8

**Cold Blooded**

_Ash was the first one to wake up in the morning, opening his eyes and blinking rapidly against the bright sunlight beaming down on them. He yawned and slowly sat up in his sleeping bag. The motion disrupted the sleeping mouse Pokémon curled up next to him._

"_Pika?" Pikachu mumbled as he was pulled out of his dreams. He cocked open one eye to look up at his trainer. Ash saw him looking and smiled, reaching down to rub his yellow head fondly._

"_Hey, Pikachu. Did I wake you?" Ash looked around his surroundings, taking note of Brock still fast asleep in his sleeping bag and the nearby tent which Dawn slept exhaled heavily. "Did I wake up a bit early? I'm already hungry though. Come on, Brock, when are you going to wake up and make us breakfast?" he muttered quietly._

_Pikachu yawned and stretched out his back luxuriously, before hopping into Ash's lap. Ash put his arms around him and held him close to his chest._

"_Hopefully we'll be able to get to the next town today," Ash murmured. "It would be good to get to a Pokémon Center soon, especially since we've been having so many battles lately. Of course I've won every single one of them." He smiled to himself. Defeating trainers in battle wasn't such a difficult task for him with his party of Pokémon. It was a shame though that he still had yet to beat a certain rival of himself. The boy shook his head, trying not to think about Paul. He certainly didn't want to be thinking about him on a nice morning like this. It would only put a dampener on his good mood._

_There was movement in the nearby sleeping bag. Ash turned his head, watching the older boy sit up in his sleeping bag and rub his eyes. "Good morning, Brock," he said cheerfully. "Are you going to make us breakfast now?"_

_Brock looked at him with an exasperated expression. "I've just woken up and you want me to start making breakfast already?"_

_Ash smiled sheepishly. "I'm kind of hungry," he admitted._

"_Yeah, I can tell," Brock said in a dry voice. "I'll do it soon, okay?"_

"_Okay." Ash decided it would be a good time to start getting ready and he slipped out of the sleeping bag, rolling it up and stuffing it into his green backpack. The dark-haired boy then grabbed a small towel out of the bag and picked up his red baseball cap, then he set off toward the nearby river they had seen the previous evening when locating a suitable place to set up camp. He found it quickly enough and sat down next to it, dipping his hands into the cool, glistening water. Ash quickly brought his hands up, splashing the water over his face. Droplets of water splashed onto his black and yellow vest. He picked up the soft, fluffy towel and quickly dried his face._

_Ash then placed his cap upon his head of messy hair, not terribly concerned about brushing it. As long as he wore a hat to a hide it, he didn't really see the point in making sure his hair was tidy. He got to his feet, picking up the towel as he did so, then turned around. For a second, he had an unsettling feeling. It was hard to explain. The young trainer shrugged it off and headed back to the campsite._

_Brock was up now and he was rolling up his sleeping bag to put away. Ash sat down on the grass next to Pikachu and fondly stroked his yellow head. "It sure is a nice morning. I think we should do some training with the other Pokémon today."_

_"Don't forget, we've got to get to the next town as soon as possible," Brock told him, quickly combing his thick brown hair. "I don't think there will be much time for you to train."_

_"Huh? Oh, I didn't think we were in that much of a hurry." Ash blinked in confusion. Sure, it would be good to get to the next town and stop by the Pokémon Center, even sleep in a proper bed tonight, but surely they didn't have to get there right away?_

_"Uh, well, you know, we really need more supplies and stuff," Brock said evasively. "It would be good to get that all out of the way while we still can."_

_"Um, yeah, I guess." Ash exchanged a blank look with Pikachu. It almost seemed like Brock had something to hide, but maybe he was just imagining things. He lay down on his back with his arms behind his head and gazed up at the clouds. "Hey, Pikachu, look. That cloud looks a bit like your head," he pointed out. Pikachu looked up at the cloud and cheerfully agreed. Ash smiled and continued to watch clouds. He saw one that might have been a misshapen Jigglypuff or Clefairy._

_Now Brock was setting up for breakfast. The table was put out along with the chairs. Ash sat up and watched while he got out the ingredients for breakfast and began preparing a meal. A few minutes later, Dawn emerged from the tent with Piplup, already fully dressed._

_"Good morning!" Dawn said cheerfully._

_"Morning, Dawn," Ash responded._

_A few minutes later, they were all sitting around the table, eating breakfast and chatting. Bowls of Pokémon food had been laid out for their Pokémon as well and they all ate voraciously. It was quite and peaceful and they were all having a good time. Nothing happened to ruin this perfectly good morning and they were all satisfied. Once breakfast was over, everyone quickly packed their things together, recalled their Pokémon and started walking._

_In just under an hour, the trio found themselves on a gentle slope overlooking a town._

_"Good," Brock said, seeming satisfied. "We made it here on time." Ash wondered what they were on time for. "There should be time for you to pop by the Pokémon Center if you like. Actually, let's do that." Before anyone could answer, he was heading toward the town. Ash and Dawn quickly followed._

_"Welcome!" the pink haired nurse greeted them with a sunny smile as they entered the Pokémon Center. Brock immediately sprang to the counter and started pouring out a confession of his love for Nurse Joy, complete with cheesy pick up lines. Ash and Dawn watched on, smiling awkwardly as Croagunk emerged from its Poké Ball and dealt a swift punishment to its trainer._

_"Hello, Nurse Joy. Could you take care of my Pokémon?" Ash asked, placing Pikachu along the counter with his Poké Balls._

_"Certainly." Nurse Joy placed the Poké Balls in a tray and took them away, along with Pikachu. Ash walked away from the counter and stood next to Dawn. "Hey, do you know why Brock's being so secretive today? I think he might be hiding something."_

_"I suppose he is acting a little odd," Dawn commented. "I really don't know why though. Maybe he's planning something."_

_"Hmm." Ash jammed his hands in his pockets, looking thoughtful. "I wonder what it could be. Could there be a girl he's going to meet in this town?"_

_"Brock? Meeting a girl?" Dawn chuckled lightly. "That will be the day. He's usually just throwing himself at them."_

_"Who's throwing themselves at what now?" Brock asked as he returned, having recovered from Croagunk's Poison Jab. He glanced at Dawn suspiciously. The blue haired co-ordinator just grinned slyly._

_Nurse Joy soon returned with Pikachu and the Poké Balls. "Your Pokémon are fighting fit now," she told Ash._

_"Thanks a lot." Ash replaced the Poké Balls on his waist and Pikachu jumped onto his shoulder. "So, Brock, are we headed somewhere in particular?"_

_"As a matter of fact, yes," Brock admitted. "But I'm not telling you why. You'll have to wait until we get there."_

_"I wonder what it could be," Dawn mused as they left the Pokémon Center. "Is there something special happening today, like somebody's birthday?"_

_"Not that I know of." Ash was just as confused as she was. They followed Brock through a series of winding streets until he suddenly came to a stop before a flight of steps. At the top of the steps, they could see a large building._

_The Pokémon breeder pulled a leaflet out of his pocket and glanced at it, then at the building. "Yes, this is it," he said, looking satisfied. "Well then, let's go inside." The trio headed up the steps and walked through the double doors._

_Ash gasped at the sight that greeted them. A banner stretched across the foyer, printed with the words "Happy Anniversary" and balloons had been tied down, gently tugging at their strings as they floated in the air. Tables were laden with food. The thing that surprised him most however were the people present. His mother, Professor Oak, Misty, May, Max, Tracey, Gary... the people closest to him were all gathered here inside this very building. This party was apparently being held in his honour, which surprised him._

_Brock looked at him, seeing his gaping expression. "You seem pretty shocked," he commented. "It's a nice surprise, isn't it?"_

_"I don't understand. What's this party for?" Dawn was completely nonplussed._

_"Hey, Ash!" Misty walked up to him with a wide grin on her face. Her aquamarine eyes sparkled with delight. "I've missed you a lot. It's great to see you again."_

_"Uh... yeah... but I'm not sure what's going on." Ash was still too shocked to really respond to her._

_"Duh, Ash, it's your anniversary!" Misty rolled her eyes. "Brock went to a lot of trouble to arrange it and keep it a secret from you at the same time. It's the anniversary of the day you started your Pokémon journey."_

_"It is?" Ash was confused. He couldn't even remember what the date was supposed to be, but there wouldn't be any reason for anybody to lie about what day it was, would there? "Wow, I can't believe I managed to forget that. This is great! Thanks a lot, Brock!"_

_"Why was this kept a secret from me too?" Dawn asked._

_"I figured the less people who knew, the easier it would be to keep a secret," Brock responded. "Sorry about that."_

_"I can keep a secret, you know," Dawn muttered, glancing at Misty. "Oh, you're Misty, aren't you? Ash has told me a lot about you. I'm Dawn."_

_"Yeah, I've heard about you too," Misty replied, greeting her with a friendly smile. "It's nice to meet you, Dawn."_

_While the two girls got to know each other, Ash wandered over to where everyone else was standing. He was happy to see his friends here and his mother as well. It certainly was nice to see them all here at this party. This really was a wonderful surprise._

_"Hello, sweetie." Delia immediately enveloped Ash in a hug. "Oh, I've missed you so much while you've been away. It feels like you've been in Sinnoh forever."_

_Ash smiled and hugged her back. "Yeah, it does feel like a long time. I've got to hurry and get my remaining badges before it's time for the league, then I'll come right home."_

_"You've made a lot of progress, Ash," Professor Oak said. "I'm sure you're going to do wonderfully in the Sinnoh League."_

_"Thanks, Professor. I hope so, too," Ash responded._

_"I'm going to make sure to watch it on TV when it happens," Max piped up. "I'll even tape it too. It will be great to watch you in battle again. I'm still waiting for the time when we can battle each other."_

_"I'm looking forward to it too, Max." Ash turned his attention to May. "Hey, May, how are things going? You got all your ribbons yet?"_

_"I certainly have." May's smile widened triumphantly. "Now the hard part's over and I can get into the Grand Festival. This time, I'm going to make sure that cup is mine!" She clutched a fist in determination._

_"Good luck," Ash said. "I know you can do it if you try your best." He looked to the last person standing there. "Hi, Gary."_

_"Hi. It's a good thing I was able to come to your party." Gary smiled wryly. "Professor Rowan has me working pretty hard." He paused, looking thoughtful. "Things sure have changed a lot since that day we first set out on our respective journeys, haven't they?"_

_"Yeah, they sure have." Ash nodded. "I'm glad they did. No offence, but you used to be a real jerk."_

_"Hey!" Gary feigned mock offence. "Heh, I can't believe how I used to be sometimes. Was I really so immature and egoistical?" The young researcher chuckled wryly and shook his head. "You've changed quite a bit too, Ash. You used to be so... well, I don't know, kind of crazy and hyperactive."_

_"He could be pretty immature too," Misty cut in, having come over and heard their conversation. "You should have seen him when his hat got stolen by a Mankey."_

_"Misty!" Ash looked at her in slight annoyance._

_"It's true. You completely lost it." Misty giggled. She reached out and petted Pikachu, who was still on Ash's shoulder. "It's nice to see you too, Pikachu."_

_"Cha!" Pikachu happily squeaked as Misty continued to rub his head._

_The party went on for the rest of the day, everyone merrily celebrating the happy occasion as they talked, ate and drank. Though it went on for such a long time, it seemed to be over all too soon and everyone said their goodbyes as they left. Ash, Dawn and Brock returned to the Pokémon Center, ate a brief dinner and went to the bedroom. As they settled into bed for the night, Ash wrapped his arms around Pikachu with a sleepy grin on his face._

_"Today was great, Pikachu," the young trainer whispered. "I wish I could live this day over and over again."_

_Little did Ash know, that was exactly what was happening. The second he fell asleep, he forgot the entire day and woke up in the morning, outside and in his sleeping bag. When Brock woke up, he was immediately asking him about breakfast before going to the river to wash his face. Not once did he ever come to realise that everything had already happened before._


	9. Chapter 9

**Cold Blooded**

Ash had no idea at the time that he was really lying in a hospital bed, hooked up to machines and a drip, with a breathing mask around his face. He was equally unaware of the audience that he had in the room, watching him with worried expressions.

Pikachu sat at the foot of the bed, not once removing his gaze from the face of his trainer. He had been missing him terribly the past few days and was disappointed to see him like this. Ash seemed to have no idea that they were even there. "Pikapi," the electric mouse whispered, lowering his ears sadly. When would he ever wake up?

Dawn tore her gaze away from the sight of Ash's frail body beneath the sheets and blinked back tears. She didn't like seeing Ash in this state either. "What did they do to him?" the co-ordinator whispered tearfully. "What did they do to make him like this?" Whoever had taken him away had hurt him terribly, a fact that was made all too clear by the bruises, burns and weals covering Ash's body as well as the missing fingernails on one hand and the brutalised fingers of the other hand. Had all that pain he was forced to go through sent him over the edge?

Brock had his arms folded across his chest as he sat in a chair, gazing at his feet with a solemn expression. He had talked to the doctor and knew something that Dawn didn't. How could he possibly tell her that Ash had been raped during his ordeal? She was too young to be hearing about such terrible things. Ash had been robbed of his innocence because of his captors' vile deeds and it was sickening to think that they could have gone and put him through something so despicable. The Pokémon breeder wasn't surprised that Ash had been left in such a state. His catatonia was most likely a response to all the pain and torture he had been put through. Unable to put up with it any longer, the young boy had locked himself away from the world.

"They hurt him really badly," Brock said finally. "Something they did to him caused him to break."

"Why would they do that?" Dawn sniffed loudly. She wrapped her arms tighter around Piplup and rested her chin on his head. "Why did they want to take Ash away and hurt him?" She took in a deep breath and slowly exhaled. "Is he going to wake up anytime soon?"

"I don't think he wants to wake up right now." Brock shook his head. "He's been through far too much."

The next day, Delia turned up and kept a vigil by her son's bedside while everyone waited for him to wake up. The days passed by and still Ash remained in his catatonic state. It was starting to look like he would never wake up but still they waited and hoped that one day he would overcome his trauma and return to them.

x-o-x-o-x

Anabel heard the ringing of the telephone and hurried through the building, snatching up the handset. The video screen flickered into life, revealing her boss and the owner of the Battle Frontier, Scott. "Oh, hello," she said, smiling. "Are you calling to tell me about a new challenger?" It had been a while since anyone had come through for a match which was hardly a surprise considering how strong the Frontier Brains were. Only the most skilled of trainers could get past them.

"Oh, no, it's nothing like that." Scott looked serious. "Actually, it's about Ash."

"Huh?" Anabel's face flushed at the mention of Ash. It had been a long time since she had heard about him and she wondered what he was doing right now. Was Scott aware of her feelings for him? "How is he?"

"It's not good. I heard from a friend that something terrible had happened and I knew you were quite fond of him, so I thought you might want to know." Scott paused, waiting for her reaction.

The salon maiden felt a flutter of fear in her chest. "What happened?" she whispered, her face paling. It couldn't be too bad, could it? He wasn't... dead, surely? Horrifying possibilities ran through her mind and she steeled herself for his next words.

"He was kidnapped. They don't know who was behind it though. Seems that he was simply dumped at a hospital when they were done with him," Scott replied. "The thing is, he was catatonic and has been that way for the past two weeks. At this rate, he might not be waking up anytime soon."

"Oh my god." Anabel's hand tightened around the receiver. "Poor Ash." What had he been through to end up catatonic for such a long time? She couldn't understand why anybody would want to hurt him. He was one of the sweetest and friendliest people she had ever met. "Where is he?"

"He's in a hospital in the Sinnoh region," Scott told her. "Jubilife City, I believe."

"Thank you for telling me," Anabel said quietly. "I'm going to go and see him right away." The two exchanged their farewells and she placed down the handset. Immediately, she was packing up her things and leaving to catch the first ship that would take her to the Sinnoh region.

x-o-x-o-x

Delia was the only one in the hospital room when Anabel arrived. Brock and Dawn had gone to the Pokémon Center to eat lunch and Pikachu had gone with them as well so that it could also eat. She stood up to greet the newcomer. "Hello, are you a friend of Ash's?" she asked.

"Well, we met during the Battle Frontier. I'm one of the Frontier Brains," Anabel explained. "My name is Anabel."

"It's nice to meet you, Anabel. I'm Delia, Ash's mother." Delia held out a hand and the two shook hands. "Ash has been like this for a long time now," she said, glancing at her son with a sad expression. "It's good of you to come and see him. I wonder if he can even hear us. You should try talking to him anyway. Who knows, maybe he really is aware of what's going on to some extent."

Anabel silently approached Ash's bedside, feeling a pang as she gazed down at him. He looked almost lifeless in that bed. Only the gentle rise and fall of his chest and the beeping of the machine as it monitored his heart rate told her that Ash really was still alive. His eyes stared dully up at the ceiling. "Ash," the young woman whispered, biting her bottom lip. It was painful to see him like this, so weak and helpless. A rush of tears came to her eyes.

"I'm going to get some coffee," Delia announced. "Would you like something?"

Anabel shook her head. "No thanks." She listened to the sound of Delia's footsteps leaving the room and the door closing. "Ash... I want to help you. I don't know if I really can do it, but I have to try." Could her psychic powers be enough? She was just going to have to find out. The salon maiden placed her hand upon Ash's forehead and knelt down by the bed, closing her eyes. Immediately, she felt as if she was tilting and then she was falling into darkness.

Anabel opened her eyes and looked around in amazement. Now she was standing inside the foyer of a building. There were tables laden with food and quite a few people were present as well. She looked up at a banner that stretched across the room. Apparently it was somebody's anniversary and this had to be a party, but she knew it wasn't real. This all had to be taking place inside Ash's head, and speaking of Ash...

Ash was standing at one of the tables, cramming food into his mouth. He felt a tap on his shoulder and hastily turned around, swallowing his mouthful. "Huh... Anabel? I didn't know you were coming to the party too," he spoke in a surprised tone. "Did Brock invite you as well?"

"Well, no, not really," Anabel admitted. She gazed at Ash with a troubled look on her face. He didn't know this was a dream, did he?

"So, how did you find out about the party?" Ash wondered out loud. "Eh, it doesn't matter anyway. The more, the merrier, right? It's the anniversary of the day I started my journey. Everyone came all the way out here so that we could celebrate. You remember May, Max, and Brock right? Let me introduce you to everyone else."

"Ash." Anabel felt dizzy for a moment listening to Ash carrying on. It was slightly disconcerting. He was really enjoying this party, wasn't he? It was too bad she was going to have to tell him the truth, but there was no other choice. She couldn't let him lie in that bed and waste away while everyone worried about him. "Look, I just really have to talk to you first."

"Oh?" Ash regarded her blankly. "So, what is it then?"

"Let's just go over here." Even if the people around them weren't real, Anabel didn't feel entirely comfortable talking with them so close. Ash obediently followed her to the far side of the room away from the crowd and leaned against the wall, waiting for her to start talking. "First, I just want to tell you that I'm sorry for what I'm about to do."

"What... why?" The confused trainer raised an eyebrow.

"Just listen." Anabel placed her hands on his shoulders. "This party is nothing but a dream."

Ash stared at her with with a disbelieving expression, then laughed incredulously. "Is that supposed to be a joke or something?" he asked, grinning. "Man, you almost got me there, especially with that weird look on your face."

"This isn't a joke," Anabel said, a little more sharply then intended. Ash froze, his mouth dropping open. "It's all in your mind, Ash. This party isn't real. The people here aren't real. It's all made up. The only things that are real are you and I."

"No... that can't be..." Ash shook his head furiously. "Anabel, come on, this isn't funny."

"Right now, I'm sitting next to your bed in the hospital. You've been lying in that bed for two weeks." Anabel fell silent, biting her bottom lip as she saw the despairing look on Ash's face.

"It's... all a dream?" Ash looked around at the room. "It can't be... it felt so real..." His eyes widened as he watched everyone start to fade away.

"You have to wake up now," Anabel said softly. "Everybody is worried about you. They miss you so much. Please, Ash."

"No... no!" Ash sank to his knees and curled up, putting his head in his hands. "I don't want to wake up! I'm scared... please, don't do this to me!" He whimpered and tears filled his eyes. The entire room disappeared, plunging them into near darkness.

Anabel knelt down in front of him. "I'm so sorry," she said again, wrapping her arms around his quivering body. "I just did it because I care about you. Ash, I know you must have been through something horrible, but you've got to overcome it. Do you really want to spend the rest of your life lying in a bed? What about your dreams, Ash? Don't you want to achieve them?"

Ash swallowed heavily and nodded. She was right. He couldn't throw away his dream of becoming Pokémon Master. However, he knew if he woke up, he was going to have to face up to all the pain and misery he had suffered through. He would have to live with it for the rest of his life. Could he ever be happy again?

"Let's go back now," Anabel murmured. "You're not going to be on your own out there, you know. You have friends and family who are there for you. They want you back and I want you back too." She let go and stood up, holding her hand out to him. Ash took her hand and got to his feet. A bright light enveloped the two.

Anabel opened her eyes with a start, finding herself leaning upon the bed. She slowly got to her feet, watching as Ash started to stir, his eyes slowly blinking.

Ash stared up at the ceiling, feeling a bitter pang in his chest. It had been such a nice, happy dream and it hurt to have to wake up and face the bitter reality. At least he could draw comfort from the fact he was safe now. He didn't have a clue what had happened to ensure his freedom. The last thing he remembered was Zero hurting him and passing out from the shock of it all. He turned his head and looked up toward Anabel, who was smiling down at him, her eyes shining with what seemed like relief.

"You're awake now." Anabel was glad that her idea had worked. She did feel bad for Ash, but he couldn't have stayed like that for the rest of his life. Somebody had to coax him out of his shell.

"I was scared," Ash whispered. "They hurt me..."

"It's alright," Anabel soothed. "You're safe in the hospital now. You don't have anything to worry about."

"Ash!" Delia exclaimed from the doorway. She hurriedly set down her coffee mug and rushed over to embrace him. "Oh, you're finally awake. Thank goodness! We were all so worried about you."

"Mom..." Ash hugged her back tightly, sniffling loudly. He was so glad to see her after everything that he had been through.

"My poor baby," Delia whispered, stroking his hair. "I can't believe what they did to you." She knew all the horrifying details of what had happened to him and it had shocked her to the core. Now she wanted nothing more than for those people to be caught and put to justice. It wouldn't give Ash his innocence back, but it would be enough.

"Did the police get them?" Ash asked. "And they found me, right?" He wanted to hear that J and Zero were suffering behind bars for what they had done. The thought of them still being out there was terrifying.

Delia released him and held him at arms length. "No, that's not what happened. You were left outside the hospital and nobody saw who left you there either. The police didn't find any clues."

A lump formed in Ash's throat and he swallowed, sinking back onto the pillows. If J and Zero had let him go then maybe he didn't have anything to worry about, but a ball of fear had hardened itself in his gut. He wanted them to be somewhere they could never get to him. Then again Zero had been busted out of jail. Even if they were in jail, there was still a chance of their escaping. He sighed deeply and closed his eyes.

"Those people are still out there?" Anabel clenched a fist. "I can't believe they are going to get away with something like this. It's not right."

The door opened and Brock, Dawn and Pikachu came into the room. Their faces lit up with joy when they saw that Ash was awake at last.

"Pikachu!" Ash reached out for Pikachu as he jumped onto the bed and pulled him into a tight hug.

"Ash..." Dawn's eyes filled with happy tears. "You finally came back."

"How are you feeling?" Brock asked.

Ash quietly exhaled. "Well... I'm glad to see you guys. But... it was awful. Everything they did to me..." His eyes filled with tears. "They kept hurting me and doing terrible things." He buried his face in Pikachu's soft fur and his shoulders shook. "It hurts so much."

"Ash..." Delia put a hand on his shoulder, biting her lower lip. She wished she could comfort him, but nothing she could do would erase his pain and suffering.

"Why?" Dawn whispered softly. "Why did they pick you?"

Ash raised his head, tears trickling down his face. "It was J and Zero," he choked out. "They wanted to get revenge on me."

"Wait, Zero? That crazy guy who was obsessed with the Reverse World?" Dawn asked. Ash shakily nodded. "He was working with her?"

"They turned out to be cousins," Ash spoke faintly. "They were torturing me and hurting me to the point where I broke, and it worked."

"Those monsters," Brock muttered, shaking his head and looking disgusted. "They can't even be called human after what they did."

Dawn sat down on the bottom of the bed, gazing sadly at Ash. He looked so gaunt and his eyes were dull and filled with pain. It was going to be a long time before he recovered from his experience, if he ever did. Of course, it would haunt him for his whole life, but hopefully he would have the strength to move on. "At least they let you go," she said so quietly that she almost couldn't be heard.

Ash just nodded, tightening his hold on Pikachu. Zero had been hellbent on ending his life. Just what had happened after he passed out? He couldn't remember a thing after that. Perhaps someone had stopped him from succeeding and since he was completely broken, there was no point in torturing him anymore.

Half an hour later, Officer Jenny came to ask some questions. Anabel had already gone and only Brock, Dawn and Delia were there with Ash. The green haired police officer sat down on the side of the bed next to Ash, looking at him sympathetically. "I assure you, we're going to do our best to catch those criminals. Now that you're awake, we need you to tell us. I know you might be scared, but-"

"It's okay," Ash interrupted her. J and Zero had already done what they wanted to and he wasn't afraid of them coming after him. Besides, J obviously wasn't easy to catch, so it was unlikely the police would get her after all and they wouldn't be seeking further revenge on him. "I'll tell you who kidnapped me. It was that Pokémon bounty hunter, J... and her comrade was a man named Zero."

"Pokémon Hunter J..." Officer Jenny frowned, recalling an incident that had happened at a prison involving the escape of a prisoner. That prisoner was named Zero. "I heard of an incident where she was involved in breaking out a prisoner named Zero. We never did connect it to your kidnapping though."

Ash remained silent, thinking about his kidnappers and torturers still out there. They would never be caught and brought to justice because J was smart enough not to get captured by the police. A chill ran through his body as he wondered what would happen the next time they witnessed her chasing down a Pokémon. Would he have the guts to try and stop her? What if she retaliated and kidnapped him again?

"Well, we won't have to worry about capturing Zero," Officer Jenny stated.

"Huh? Why not?" Ash asked.

"His body was discovered almost two weeks ago. He had been shot at point blank range," the officer replied. "We still don't know the details behind his murder."

Ash had never thought he would ever be so relieved to hear about the death of a human being, but he was. Hearing that the maniac who had soiled him and taken his innocence was dead was incredibly uplifting. He wondered who had killed Zero. Had J been angry enough about Zero acting independently that she would have killed him? It sounded strange that she would kill her own cousin, but then again J was hardly a caring person. It didn't seem so unbelievable when he considered that fact.

"We may not have been able to capture J up to this point but we're still trying our best to do so and I promise you, she will be severely punished for all her crimes, including your kidnapping." Officer Jenny stood up, frowning. "It's unbelievable the evil some people are capable of. The world would be a much better place without them."

"How long have you been trying to catch her?" Delia asked. "Is there a chance you might never...?"

Officer Jenny gazed down at her feet with a troubled expression. "She has been stealing Pokémon for a while now and we haven't been able to capture her. She's a very resourceful criminal." Officer Jenny exhaled heavily. "That woman was able to break a man out of a high security prison. We really are trying, but it isn't easy."

"I see." Delia bit her lip. "I hope you succeed in catching that evil woman."

"I hope so too," Officer Jenny spoke sadly. It was disheartening to think about how many times J had evaded capture by the police and now she had gone and done something much worse than stealing Pokémon. More than ever, the female officer wished that they could catch J and punish her. The female officer turned and left the room, heading back to her police box where she would file a report.

Ash glumly stared at the closed door. He believed the police would try their best, but wasn't that what they had been doing all along? J would get away with it, just like she got away with everything she had done. She would always be out there, flying around in that airship, free to do more evil things.

If only there was some way for her to get what she deserved...

x-o-x-o-x

Mesprit, Azelf and Uxie had all been successfully captured and were now in the hands of Team Galactic. The silver haired Pokémon hunter strode into the cockpit and sat down, ordering her crew to take off. The airship lifted into the air and began to fly over Lake Valor.

At that moment, two large bolts came shooting down from the sky and struck the top of the airship. Mesprit and Uxie's Future Sight attack had not been in vain, even after they were turned into stone. The damage was so bad that the ship began to lose altitude and slowly dropped down toward the large whirlpool within the lake. The frantic attempts of the crew to save the airship did nothing and it plunged into the water, the whirlpool pulling it down toward the bottom of the lake. J gritted her teeth in frustration as she saw the end coming near. How could things have turned out like this?

Cracks splintered the windows and the sound of breaking glass mingled with the screams of the crew as the water began to pour in.

Moments later, the airship exploded.

J was never seen again.

Ash heard the news from Gary, who had witnessed the entire event.

It couldn't undo everything that had happened, but it was enough. He was glad to know that in the end, justice had been served.


End file.
